Haste Ye Back
by KeepCalmAndExpectoPatronum
Summary: After graduating from Hogwarts, Scorpius Malfoy moves to Edinburgh to study at university. He invites his best friend, Albus Severus Potter, to stay with him over the Christmas holidays. The holiday would be perfect if it weren't for Albus' growing and confused feelings about his best friend...
1. Auld Reekie

_Created as part of SlashFest (Slashorific 2018)_

 _A special thank you to my beta, Nymphadorable, for all of your help!_

* * *

A pale sun rose high in the mid-winter sky, casting the collosal shadow of Edinburgh castle across the city below. Even on a clear summer's day the medieval fortress loomed overhead, a great brownstone monolith perched on top of Castle Rock. Not as magnificent as Hogwarts, of course, but it was spectacular for a Muggle fortification. It was the main draw for most tourists who visited Scotland's capital; a romantic vision that dominated the skyline wherever you were in the city. But Albus Severus Potter barely noticed it. He checked his watch for what felt like the hundredth time, tapping his foot impatiently as his train from Kings Cross slowly pulled into Edinburgh Waverly Station. When the train finally came to a standstill, he hopped onto the platform and hurried towards the exit barriers, eyes peeled for something of far greater interest and importance than any castle.

Albus tried to keep his cool as his progress to the arranged meeting point was slowed by throngs of commuters, shuffling shoulder to shoulder at a painfully slow pace towards the exits. Albus gritted his teeth - it had been six whole months since he had last seen Scorpius and he'd be damned if these people were going to keep them apart any longer. But just as quickly as the frustration had flared up inside of him, it melted away - the familiar white-blonde hair was easy to spot amongst the crowds even from a distance.

"Scorp!" he bellowed and he saw Scorpius' head turn in the direction of his voice. As his best friend's face came into view Albus ran forward, easily hopping over the barrier and half-leaping into Scorpius' arms, hugging him fiercely.

"Albus!" Scorpius yelped in surprise, unprepared for the rugby-tackle greeting and both boys tumbled onto the ground, laughing hysterically.

"Oi!" yelled an angry voice. Albus looked up and saw a bemused-looking staff member looming over both of them still lying sprawled across the ground. "Ye cannae jump the barrier, lad. Ye need tae buy a ticket!"

"Oh, sorry," laughed Albus pulling his crushed train ticket out of his pocket and thrusting it into the man's hand. "We just haven't seen each other in a long time. I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

The man inspected the ticket closely before relenting, "Alright, but nae jumpin' the barrier in future, eh? And get aff the ground, yer gettin' in everyone's way."

The man stalked off without another word. Albus watched him leave before leaping to his feet and holding out his hand to help Scorpius back up. Scorpius took it and Albus heaved him back to his feet, both boys grinning broadly at one another. Albus looked Scorpius once over and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Check you!" he laughed taking a step back to take in a very different, very Muggle-looking Scorpius Malfoy. "When did you get a stylist?"

Scorpius blushed and smiled sheepishly. He put out his arms and turned slowly in a circle for Albus' perusal, "You like it?"

Albus did. He'd only ever seen Scorpius wearing wizards robes, so it was strange to see his best friend wearing Muggle clothes, and suiting them into the bargain. Instead of his usual loose-fitting black robes, Scorpius was sporting old sneakers with skinny jeans, a beige shearling jacket and a green beanie hat.

"Yeah, you look great," said Albus truthfully, feeling a little scruffy by comparison in his grey hoodie and sport trainers.

"You look great, too," Scorpius offered sincerely. Albus snorted.

"Not as stylish as you, but thanks anyway. Shall we make tracks?"

Scorpius nodded and beckoned Albus to follow. They marched out of the station and onto the bustling street, Scorpius turning left in the direction of the castle.

"I'm so glad you came," said Scorpius, his cheeks flushed pink from the cold and excitement.

"'Course I came," laughed Albus. "Like I'm going to turn down a trip to Edinburgh - free accomodation and food to boot."

Scorpius smirked, "Is that the only reason you came here? A free holiday?"

"Well, I suppose getting to spend Christmas with you was another factor in my decision to come here," he teased. Scorpius rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

"Whatever. I'm just glad you're here," he said hooking his and Albus' arms together. "I've got so much to show you. You're going to love it here…"

The boys chatted animatedly as they walked up the steep hill towards Scorpius' flat. Albus considered himself to be fairly fit, but by the time they had reached the top of the hill, he was struggling to catch his breath.

"Why are we walking, Scorp?" he huffed, taking a moment to lean against a low wall to get his breath back. "Couldn't we just have apparated?"

"I thought you wanted to see the city?" asked Scorpius with a cheeky grin.

"I've got all of Christmas break to see it," he argued, massaging a stitch in his side. "Right now I just want to dump my bag and heat up, it's bloody freezing out here."

"Yeah, the temperature has dropped a bit," Scorpius agreed, pulling his winter coat closer to his neck. He inclined his head in the direction of a narrow, cobbled street, "Come on, we're almost there."

"How many others do you share the flat with?" asked Albus, rubbing his cold hands together to try and heat them up, but to little effect.

"There's six of us altogether," he replied, peeling off his gloves and handing them to Albus. Albus made to decline the offer, but Scorpius was already forcing them onto his hands. When the first one slipped across his fingers he gave an audible sigh of relief, the biting cold lessening already.

"Thank you," he said quietly. Scorpius gave him a small smile.

"No problem. So yeah, there's six of us during term time, but Betty, Fraser and Jorge have all went home for Christmas. So it's just Pippa and Rose who'll be there with us."

"I thought Rose would be going home for Christmas," mused Albus. Scorpius shrugged.

"She says she's got too much uni work to do over the holidays," he explained. "She thinks going home will be too much of a distraction."

"I'm sure Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron were delighted to hear that," said Albus sarcastically. Scorpius laughed.

"Well, she relented and said she'll be going over to see them on Christmas day and Pippa's working that day-"

"Working on Christmas?" asked Albus in surprise.

"She couldn't afford to go home for the holidays, so I think she's just working to distract herself from missing out on seeing her family this year. She says it's a good money earner; people are more generous with tips at Christmas. So it looks like it'll just be you and me on Christmas morning," Scorpius hopped a little with excitement. "It'll be like being back at Hogwarts, again!"

"Urgh, does it need to be?" groaned Albus. "We only just escaped that place, I don't need to relive it again anytime soon."

Scorpius kept a smile fixed to his face, but his voice had a slight edge to it, "Well, it doesn't have to be exactly like Hogwarts. Just the good bits, you know? Get up to mayhem together again, only this time we won't get caught and given detention. Just...hang out like we used to. I've missed it. I've missed you."

Albus glanced up at Scorpius at these words and felt a hot flush rise in his cheeks. He stared at the ground as he marched forward and admitted quietly, "I've missed you, too."

Scorpius smiled meekly at Albus and they walked in silence for the rest of the journey, both deep in thought. They had spent the last seven years muddling through their Hogwarts education, counting down the days (in Albus' case at least) until they finally graduated. Hogwarts was not the home he had hoped it would be, certainly not the one his father had professed it to have been. But he and Scorpius had found solace in each other, supporting one another through it all - bullies, vicious rumours, Death Eaters, everything; Scorpius was the only reason Albus had bothered to return for his seventh and final year.

They hadn't talked much about what their plans were after leaving school; all Albus knew was that he was keen to leave his parent's home as soon as possible. His relationship with his father had greatly improved in the last couple of years, but he was still keen to have his own space. Albus had assumed that he and Scorpius would find a place together in London, so it had come as a shock when his best friend informed him that actually, he would be leaving for Edinburgh come the end of the summer holidays.

Albus had been surprised at how hurtful it was to have his friend up and leave him like that without consulting him first. Okay, so they'd spent the last seven years in each other's pockets; Scorpius probably wanted to go out on his own for a bit, make new friends, do his own thing - Albus could understand that. But when he found out from Rose and not Scorpius that they would be sharing a flat together, Albus had let his temper get the better of him and had made himself incredibly busy over the summer holidays, too busy to see his best friend before he left for his new course and a new life on the opposite side of the country.

It had been stupid on his part; Albus had been miserable all summer without Scorpius for company, then when the academic year had begun, they really were too busy to see one another. So when Scorpius had owled him a couple weeks before asking if he wanted to spend Christmas with him in Edinburgh, Albus had jumped at the chance. He felt he had a lot to make up for over the next four weeks.


	2. Hame

It wasn't long before Scorpius slowed to a halt in front of a large, nondescript tenement building. The yellowing paint on the front of the building was peeling and the security door was conspicuously broken. Albus hesitated before entering.

"You live here?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yup," Scorpius replied brightly, pushing the broken door open and beckoning Albus in from the cold. "I know what you're thinking; it doesn't look much, but I promise it's not that bad. Besides, it's one of the few flats that Rose could afford."

"Yes, but…" Albus didn't know how to put it delicately, so he just came out with what was on his mind. "You're not poor, Scorp, you could easily afford something a lot nicer than this. Merlin, your dad could probably buy you a house somewhere."

"I know," said Scorpius, ascending the stone steps towards the flat at the uppermost floor. "But I didn't want preferential treatment for a change. I wanted an authentic student experience."

"You wanted to slum it?" asked Albus skeptically. "Live in a shit flat with no gas heating and have a diet that consists primarily of cheap noodles?"

"Exactly!" replied Scorpius keenly. He paused outside of flat number seven, pulling out his keys to open the heavily-bolted door. "All I ever wanted was to be like everyone else. This is my chance to do it - to get away from the Manor and my shoddy reputation for a while - and just be normal for once."

Albus said nothing. He understood now why Scorpius had chosen to study so far away from London - it gave him the long-sought after respite from everyone who knew him (or thought that they knew him), to have a break from judging eyes. A pang of sympathy laced with jealousy struck Albus then; he empathised completely with how Scorpius felt - the weight of a father's legacy on your shoulders was quite a burden to bare - particularly with their father's. He wished he had joined Scorpius in Scotland instead of going to London; he wouldn't mind a break from being Harry Potter's son for a while.

Scorpius unlocked the door and pushed it open with some difficulty before ushering Albus inside, "Come on in, make yourself at home."

Albus took in his new, cramped surroundings; the long, narrow corridor had several doors on either side. Scorpius marched up the corridor pointing things out to Albus, "These are all bedrooms. Down here on the right is the kitchen and the living room's on the left. Bathroom's next to my bedroom here."

He stopped at a door near the end of the corridor, threw it open and strode inside with a dramatic flourish.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" he declared, arms outstretched and face beaming. Albus stepped inside the room and bashed his knee against a desk. Suppressing a wince as his leg began to throb with pain, he straightened up and took in what would be his home for the next four weeks.

Humble was a generous description for the cramped bedspace - a table sat directly behind the door, laden with course books and piles of parchment. The computer chair had a mountain of washing balanced precariously on top of it. Scorpius tossed his coat on top of the pile and it swayed dangerously before gradually coming to a standstill. Albus sidled passed it carefully, taking note of the books piled on the windowsill, blocking out much of the sunlight. Even the bedside table was covered in books and - to Albus' surprise - an ashtray. Scorpius dived on to the unmade bed in the corner of the room and bounced on the springy mattress. He pulled a packet of cigarettes from his jeans pocket and lit one with a lighter before beckoning Albus to join him. Scorpius may have grown up surrounded by grandeur and excess at Malfoy Manor but he looked strangely at ease with his modest surroundings. Discarding his bag on the floor Albus crawled along the bed and collapsed next to Scorpius, looking around the room with increasing bemusement.

"This is where you live?" he asked frowning.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't have time to tidy before you arrived," said Scorpius not sounding apologetic at all and took a draw from his cigarette. Albus stared at him.

"And since when do you smoke?" he asked incredulously. Scorpius snorted.

"You sound like my father. I dunno, I started a few weeks after I got here. Pippa offered me one; I'd never tried it before, so I thought, why not. I quite liked it, so I kept doing it. Turns out there's a few things I like that I hadn't tried before coming here," he smirked.

Albus felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise at those words, and not in an entirely unpleasant way. He eyed the cigarette with curiosity. He'd never tried one before, either.

"Can I..?" he asked tentatively. Scorpius grinned and passed the cigarette to Albus. He brought the cigarette to his lips and took an experimental draw. His mouth filled with smoke and his cheeks puffed out. Scorpius giggled.

"You look like a niffler," he laughed. "Exhale through your nose."

Albus did as he was instructed and plumes of smoke shot out of his nostrils like a dragon. It didn't taste as bad as he thought it would; it had a rich, wood-smoked flavour to it that was almost pleasant.

"Good," said Scorpius encouragingly. "Next time you draw, try to inhale the smoke into your lungs. It's probably going to burn a bit."

Albus followed Scorpius' instructions and took another draw, inhaled, then promptly began spluttering and coughing as a sharp, burning sensation caught the centre of his chest.

"Fuck sake!" he choked passing the stub back to an amused Scorpius. "That's foul!"

"Yeah, it is at first," he admitted, grinning broadly. "But it gets better over time. I guess it's not your thing, then?"

"Definitely not," Albus declared, wiping tears from his streaming eyes. He was happy to try anything once, but he wasn't keen to try that again.

"So," said Scorpius stubbing the cigarette out in the ashtray and turning excitedly back to Albus. "You're here for four weeks and there's a million things we could do. What do you fancy doing first?"

"Dunno," he shrugged. "What do you recommend?"

"Well there's the castle obviously," he began. "I need to take you up Scott's Monument - the view up there is amazing. And there's loads of museums and galleries to check out. Obviously there's the National Museum of Flight, I know you'll want to go there. Oh! And the Christmas market has opened up on Princes Street. There's an ice rink on George Street as well, we'll need to check that out at some point…"

Albus listened as Scorpius happily rhymed off everything he had planned for the two of them over the holidays. If he were perfectly honest, he'd be quite content to just sit in the flat catching up with his friend. But he was happy to indulge in whatever activities Scorpius wanted, especially when it made him smile that way. Albus' eyes lowered to look at Scorpius' mouth as he spoke, his mind wandering.

He couldn't help but notice that in the six months since he'd seen Scorpius, his best friend had transformed; he was still Scorpius, of course - still goofy and sweet and funny - but aside from his appearance, something else was different about him. He had a certain aura of confidence about him that Albus had never seen before. When he walked it was with his head held high, when he spoke it wasn't shy and unsure, but with certainty. He seemed relaxed, confident...happier.

The loud bang of the front door to the flat closing snapped Albus out of his daydream. Scorpius called out, "Who is it?"

"Me," came a muffled voice. There was a knock at the door and a girl with flowing box braids and a serious expression popped her head into the room. Her eyes fell on Albus.

"You made it," she greeted him informally. Albus gave her a half-wave.

"Alright Rose, how you doing?"

"Busy," she replied shortly, then fixed her stern gaze on Scorpius. "I've bought pizza for dinner. Are you sharing some with Pippa and I or are you going out tonight?"

Scorpius looked at Albus, "Fancy some pizza?"

Albus shrugged, "Sure, if that's alright with you?"

"It's fine," she assured him. "Dinner'll be dished up in a couple of minutes."

Without another word she withdrew from the room, closing the door behind her with a loud _click_.

"Yeah, nice to see you too, Rose," muttered Albus.

"She's just stressed," Scorpius commiserated. "Got a whole bunch of projects to be in at the start of next term."

"I'm assuming you've got all of your coursework done already?" teased Albus.

"Of course!" he replied unabashedly. "It wouldn't be much fun for you sitting watching me studying, would it?"

"Not really," admitted Albus. He wasn't surprised that Scorpius had finished homework that was supposed to take the duration of the Christmas holidays to complete - between the two of them, he'd always been more studious.

"Rose is spending most of her time between here and the uni library, so you probably won't see too much of her," said Scorpius.

"Suits me," replied Albus silkily and Scorpius punched his arm.

"You don't mean that," he chided gently. "She's your cousin; this is your chance to catch up with her as much as me."

"She might be my cousin, but Rose and I haven't been friends for a long time," Albus argued. "She wasn't friends with either of us at school. I'm surprised that you decided to find a flat together."

"What's surprising about it?" asked Scorpius with a defensive edge to his voice. "We both go to the same university and we didn't know anyone else in the city. It only made sense that we find somewhere together."

Albus smirked, "And it's nothing to do with the fact that you've had a crush on her since first year?"

"No, it doesn't," he replied coolly. "That was a long time ago, Albus. And even if I did still fancy her, it's not like we're exactly compatible."

Albus frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Scorpius blushed, "I'm not sure it's my place to say."

Curiosity piqued, Albus sat up straight on the bed and gave Scorpius his full attention, "Well, you're going to have to spill the beans now, Scorp! What is it?"

Scorpius hesitated then began, "It's nothing bad-"

"Dinner's ready!" cried Rose from the kitchen. Taking advantage of the interruption Scorpius made to move off of the bed, but Albus grabbed him by the wrist and he paused.

"Hold up," he started. "You need to tell me what you meant by that."

"If Rose hasn't told you herself...you'll see for yourself soon enough, I suppose," Scorpius replied cryptically. "Now are you coming for dinner or not?"

Relenting, Albus let go of Scorpius' wrist and followed him into the kitchen, curious as to what the big secret was. When they entered the small kitchen they found Rose stooped over the counter, dishing slices of pepperoni pizza from a large, cardboard box onto four plates.

"Drinks are already in the living room," she informed them passing two plates to Albus and Scorpius before turning back to sort her own meal.

"Thanks, Rose," said Scorpius brightly, heading for the living room. It was by far the largest room in the flat though sparsely decorated, with two long couches on adjoining walls facing a large television in the corner. Already sat at one of couches was a slim, pale girl with bright blue hair bunched in a messy bun on top of her head. She looked up from her phone and cast a dazzling smile at the boys.

"Hey honey, how are you today?" she greeted Scorpius warmly.

"Good thanks," he replied sitting down next to Albus on the couch opposite. "How was your shift?"

"Not bad," she sighed. "Just glad I got away early today, I've got a mountain of coursework to catch up on over the holidays." Her large, dark eyes fixed on Albus, " So this is the famed Albus Potter?"

"Albus, this is Pippa Goldstein," said Scorpius.

Pippa leaned over and held out a slim hand to him, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Albus. I've heard good things about you."

Albus hesitated only a moment before leaning over to take Pippa's hand and give it a light shake before dropping it, mumbling, "Yeah, nice to meet you, too."

"Oh, don't be nervous around me, honey," she said gently, gazing intently into Albus' eyes as she spoke. "I know my gift can unnerve people, but I promise I'm very discreet; all of your secrets are safe with me."

She winked and flashed him a toothy grin. Albus tried with difficulty to avoid her eyes, focusing instead on the contents of the plate. Scorpius had been kind enough to inform him before he arrived that Pippa was a powerful Legilimens. Despite her promises of discretion, he didn't like the idea of a stranger rattling about in his head.

Rose entered the living room a moment later with two more plates of pizza and placed one into Pippa's outstretched hand.

"Thank you, baby," she crooned and smacked a wet kiss on Rose's lips. Albus paused mid-bite in shock. Without further explanation, Rose settled herself on the couch next to Pippa, balancing her plate on her lap and proceeded to eat her dinner.

'Not exactly compatible', Scorpius had said. _No shit_ , thought Albus drawing his friend a sideways glance. Scorpius smirked and gave a slight shrug before taking a large bite out of a slice of pizza. As the momentary shock subsided, Albus settled back down to his own meal. It didn't bother him either way who his cousin spent her time with, but it inexplicably put his mind at ease knowing that Rose and Scorpius wouldn't be hooking up any time soon.

"Have we decided what we're watching tonight?" asked Rose.

"Fancy watching a movie?" Scorpius asked Albus, discarding their empty plates on the floor. Albus wasn't too bothered about going out this evening, so he nodded.

"Sure, why not," he replied.

"Cool," Scorpius pulled a large fluffy blanket over his and Albus' laps. "I'm in the mood for something funny."

Pippa shook her head, "We did comedy last night, it's my pick this evening."

"Oh no," groaned Scorpius, shrinking into his seat. Pippa grinned maliciously.

"Oh yes," she replied pressing play on the remote. "I present to you...Ridley Scott's _Alien_."

Eerie music began to play from the television as the opening credits scrolled across the screen.

"Again?" cried Rose in exacerbation while Scorpius groaned miserably at the mere prospect. "We've watched that movie twice this year already!"

"Well, I want to watch it again," Pippa pouted. Rose crossed her arms.

"I'm not watching it again," she declared. "Pick another one."

Pippa rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine. I thought you might be like this. Thankfully, I have a back-up."

She scrolled through the long list of movies and paused at John Carpenter's _The Thing_.

"I haven't seen this one," said Scorpius nervously. "Is it scarier than _Alien_?"

"Nah," Pippa waved her hand dismissively. "It's more of an action movie than a horror. Honestly Scorp, you'll be fine."

Scorpius was not fine.

He spent most of the film peering at the screen from between his fingers, jumping at the slightest noise and covering his head entirely with the blanket when the alien made its first gory appearance. It was only after a particularly graphic scene with a defibrillator that Scorpius raised his hands in defeat and cried, "Fuck this! I'm out of here. Albus, feel free to finish watching but I've reached my limit." and stormed out of the room.

Pippa smirked, "To be fair, he lasted longer than I thought he would. He only managed the first half and hour of _Dawn of the Dead_."

"Original or remake?" asked Albus curiously. Pippa shook her head sadly.

"Remake."

"The boy just doesn't have the stomach for horror movies," mused Rose, stuffing her face with popcorn, not even blinking as a decapitated human head sprouted legs and crawled across the screen. Albus bid the girl's goodnight and wandered back through to Scorpius' room, feeling exhausted from the day's travel and a belly full of food.

Knocking on the door before entering, he found Scorpius lying on his bed smoking a cigarette, staring up at a series of photographs he had pinned to his bedside wall. The room was dark apart from the soft light from the small lamp on the bedside table. Albus sat down on the edge of the bed and Scorpius shuffled along to make more room for him to lie down.

"Didn't fancy watching the rest of it?" asked Scorpius.

"Horror isn't really my thing, either," he admitted propping himself up on one elbow.

"I know," Scorpius gave Albus a knowing smile. "You like romance."

Albus laughed, "My secret shame. Don't go telling anyone, I'll vehemently deny it."

"I won't," he promised. "But if you want to do movie night again, tell me what romantic film you want and I'll ask for it on your behalf."

"Thanks," Albus smiled and his eyes slid fleetingly over Scorpius towards the moving photographs. Most of the pictures were of himself and Scorpius during their school days, a few were of his parents. A couple of them had a younger, bemused-looking Rose in the background, refusing to have her photograph taken.

"So," Albus began slowly. "Rose and Pippa..."

"Yup," said Scorpius lightly taking another draw. "Your face was a picture."

"It was very Slytherin of you to spring that on me, I nearly choked on my dinner," said Albus, equal parts annoyed and amused at Scorpius' cunning.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he grinned.

"I meant it as one," said Albus earnestly. "So, how long have they been together?"

Scorpius shrugged, "Couple of months."

"I wonder if Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron know?" he mused.

"Why don't you ask Rose?" said Scorpius sarcastically. "She's likely to know more about her relationship with Pippa than I do."

"Alright, I was only thinking aloud," grumbled Albus, returning his attention back to the photographs on the wall. "There's a few good ones of us here."

"Yeah," said Scorpius softly, pointing to one in the centre of the collection. "This one's my favourite."

Albus peered closely at the photograph and chuckled. The picture had been taken on Platform 9 ¾ on their first day of Hogwarts. Scorpius stood between his mother and father, looking nervous but excited. Mrs. Malfoy placed a soft kiss on her son's cheek while Mr. Malfoy looked down at his son with a mixture of pride and apprehension. Albus felt a wave of affection blossom in his chest as young Scorpius waved enthusiastically out of the picture at him. Most curiously however was the figure lurking in the background of the photograph - a young Albus standing by his father's side, shoulders hunched and miserable-looking at the prospect of leaving home for the first time.

"I was a grump even back then," he laughed.

"You still are," teased Scorpius. "Little did I know that just after this picture was taken that my life would change forever." He turned to look up at Albus, "It's funny, isn't it? How a single moment can change your whole life."

"Yeah, I think we know better than most how changing a single moment in time can have pretty catastrophic effects," he yawned, absent-mindedly scratching the stubble on his chin. He really needed to shave, but first he needed to sleep.

"What time are we heading out tomorrow?" he asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

"We don't need to head out too early if you want a long lie," offered Scorpius. "You look pretty knackered."

"I am," he yawned again. "Sorry I haven't been much fun this evening, I've been too tired to think."

"Don't worry about it," Scorpius assured him. "I'm just happy to have you here."

Albus snorted, "You're going to be sick of the sight of me after four weeks in my company."

"Hmm, somehow I doubt that," muttered Scorpius climbing off of the bed and pulling a sleeping bag out from the nearby cupboard. Albus watched him curiously.

"What are you doing?" he asked frowning.

"Getting ready for bed," he explained unrolling the small sleeping bag out on the floor. "You're a guest, so you take the bed."

"Scorpius, it's a double bed. There's plenty room for both of us," said Albus. Scorpius hesitated.

"You don't mind?" he asked. Albus rolled his eyes.

"We shared a dorm for seven years, I think I can manage another four weeks. Besides, sleeping on a floor can't be that comfortable."

"Not really," he admitted. "If you change your mind…"

"Shut up and get into bed," said Albus stripping down to his boxers and shimmying under the covers. Scorpius' cheeks burned red and he stared at the floor as he slipped out of his jeans, keeping his t-shirt on before slipping into the bed next to Albus. Albus watched Scorpius' strange behaviour with mounting curiosity. He wasn't normally this shy around Albus.

"Are you alright?" he asked concernedly.

"I'm fine," Scorpius assured him, switching the bedside lamp off. Although it was dark, he could sense Scorpius next to him lying flat on his back, stiff as a board. Albus nudged him gently.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked. "You seem pretty tense for someone trying to get to sleep."

"I'm fine," he replied a little more firmly.

"I can recite some of my coursework for you if you'd like?" offered Albus. "That'll send you to sleep in no time."

"There's really no need-" argued Scorpius, but Albus cleared his throat and began to recount the most boring section of his Advanced Transfiguration coursework.

"There are five principal exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration-"

"Merlin, no," grumbled Scorpius. Unperturbed, Albus continued.

"It is impossible to make food out of nothing. You may summon it, transform it, increase its size or indeed, its quantity…"

Scorpius began to fake snore and Albus laughed, a feeling of giddy happiness swelling up inside of him like a balloon.

"I've really missed this," he smiled.

"Me too," replied Scorpius quietly. Albus snuggled into his pillow and sighed contentedly; the bed was so warm and soft it felt like it was embracing him into a peaceful night's slumber. In the moments before sleep finally took him, Albus' thoughts turned to his friend lying next to him and he realised that today was the happiest he had been in six months.


	3. Fire and Ice

Albus dreamed…

He wasn't entirely aware of his surroundings as nondescript colours and shapes floated through his mind - pale skin, pink lips, grey eyes...Albus was vaguely aware that he was dreaming, but he had no desire to wake up; whatever he was doing, it felt good. Wet lips brushed against his hot skin and he felt pleasure rush through his pelvis, radiating out from his groin in a flood of sensation. The figure loomed above him, moaning, panting, slick with sweat. Albus' head began to spin as he teetered towards the edge…

Albus stirred. He lay in bed, heart hammering in his chest and breathing hard. The pleasure quickly subsided to be replaced with shock at what had just happened and who the vivid dream had involved. He glanced in the darkness towards Scorpius who mercifully was still fast asleep, snoring gently. Albus sighed and closed his eyes. That was intense.

It wasn't the first time he'd dreamt of Scorpius, but the same dream had been occurring with alarming frequency in recent months. He'd tried not to probe too deeply into what it meant - he was sure that it was merely a combination of typical sexual frustration and missing the company of his best friend. He figured that once they had reunited, the dreams would stop. But it seemed that they had only increased in their intensity.

Albus rubbed his sleep-crusted eyes. _It's just a silly dream_ , he reasoned. He'd just been missing his friend, that was all. He glanced back at Scorpius and felt the fluttering feeling in his stomach intensify. He quickly turned away and faced the wall instead, pushing the confusing feelings deep down in an effort to suppress them. He closed his eyes and images from the dream flitted through his mind as he gradually fell back to sleep.

* * *

After a long lie and a late breakfast, Scorpius decided to take a reluctant Albus ice-skating. Albus had tried it once before at school when the Black Lake had frozen over and found that he had as much balance as a three-legged thestral. Scorpius offered to teach him the basics and Albus only agreed to it on the promise that they would go somewhere warm afterwards.

Albus clung to the side of the rink watching Scorpius gliding easily across the ice. He made it look so natural, so easy. His skates moved like fluid across the slick surface and every so often he would perform little jumps and spins.

"Albus! Albus, watch this!" he cried, drawing his arms and leg inward and began to spin like a spinning top, faster and faster until he was a blur. Just as suddenly he stopped and posed for Albus, beaming at him. Albus pursed his lips.

"Bloody show-off," he muttered, struggling to stay upright. Where Scorpius had been loose and graceful, Albus was stiff and jerky in his movements. He tried to move along the side of the rink but his feet slipped and slid wildly on the wet ice. Scorpius glided alongside him, an amused smile teasing his lips.

"Need some help?" he asked, holding out his hand. Albus gripped it tightly but was still reluctant to let go of the edge. Scorpius moved around to face Albus.

"Give me your other hand," he said gently. Albus hesitated. Scorpius moved closer, pressing their bodies together and assured him, "I promise I won't let you fall. Do you trust me?"

Albus looked uncertainly from his feet then up into Scorpius' eyes. A head taller than Albus, he easily loomed over him. Having him this close, their bodies pressed together, holding his hand...it made Albus feel light-headed. Was it normal to feel like this when your friend was close enough to kiss?

Shaking his head clear of those intrusive thoughts, Albus tentatively pried his hand from the edge of the rink and slipped it into Scorpius', entwining their fingers together. His legs were shaking, but it had little to do with the ice. Scorpius gave him a warm smile and took a step back, pulling Albus along with him.

"The trick is to feel comfortable in your skates," Scorpius explained. "Don't worry about falling. Everyone falls, it's easy enough to get back up again if you do. Just relax, trust your body."

"Okay," huffed Albus, his eyes fixed on his feet as he moved. Momentarily releasing Albus' hand, Scorpius used his free hand to lift Albus' chin.

"Look at me, not your feet," Scorpius gently instructed him.

Albus felt the familiar fluttering in his chest at Scorpius' warm touch and nodded mutely. Scorpius took Albus' hand into his own again and continued to skate backwards, "March forward two steps and let your body glide forward slightly. That's it. Now, start picking up your foot a little when you glide…"

It was difficult for Albus to concentrate on skating when he was painfully aware of how close Scorpius was to him. It made him feel incredibly self-conscious of his own body and did little to help with his skating technique. But soon enough Albus was stroking, swizzling and stopping without crashing into Scorpius too often. Scorpius released one of Albus' hands and turned so that they were skating side by side now. As Albus relaxed and built up his confidence, he was beginning to enjoy himself.

"This isn't so bad," he admitted with a shaky laugh.

"I knew you'd enjoy it!" beamed Scorpius. "You want to try skating on your own now?"

"Not really," said Albus skeptically, but Scorpius laughed.

"Don't be nervous, you'll be fine! Just keep doing what you've been doing, I'll be right by your side to catch you if you fall," he promised.

The moment Scorpius let go of his hand, Albus felt adrift. His body stiffened and his legs began to shake.

"Shit shit shit," he hissed, holding his arms out helplessly to balance himself. He tried to move forward, but his foot slid out from under him. He yelped and expected to hit the ground hard, but Scorpius managed to catch him under the arms and hold him in an awkward bearhug to stop him from falling.

"Okay, maybe that wasn't such a good idea," he conceded, carefully guiding Albus over to the rink's exit. That was enough ice skating for today.

They found a foodstall with a heated tent close by the ice rink and sat down to a hot lunch. Scorpius chatted for a while about his university course; Potions hadn't been Albus' strongest subject at school, but he enjoyed listening to Scorpius talking about it nonetheless. He liked the way Scorpius' face always lit up when he spoke about something he was passionate about, and there were few things he was as passionate about as Potions.

"Of course I miss home sometimes, but if I want to have any chance of being a Potions Master, I had to come here to study," he said pausing to take a bite of his haggis burger. "Speaking of which, you haven't said much about your course since you got here. How's it going?"

Albus stared at his plate of food, his appetite quickly evaporating, "There's not much to tell. I was always good at Transfiguration at school, so I figured I might as well keep doing what I'm good at."

"Are you enjoying it?" asked Scorpius curiously. Albus gave a noncommittal shrug.

"I suppose so. I mean, I like being so close to the Transport and Science Museums. There's always plenty to see there," he said unenthusiastically. Scorpius snorted.

"You're the only wizard I know who'd rather drive a car than fly on a broomstick," he teased gently. Albus lowered his gaze, a little embarrassed. His love of Muggle transport had always been a source of amusement for everyone except his grandfather. And Scorpius of course, who despite never fully understanding his passion never ridiculed him for it.

"I dunno, I just never enjoyed flying on broomsticks very much. Muggle transport's always been more interesting to me," he explained.

"Hence why you'd rather take a six hour train journey here than apparate," laughed Scorpius, smiling fondly. Albus shrugged.

"I can't explain it. It's just always been something I liked," he continued. "I know it's weird…"

"I don't think it's weird," said Scorpius. "If you like it, then I think it's cool."

Albus snorted, "Thanks, Scorp. Appreciate it."

"So, apart from the museums, how's London been treating you?" he asked before taking another bite out of his burger.

"It's been okay, I guess…" Albus paused then his shoulders sagged. "London's been pretty crap, actually. My course is fine, but everything else has been awful; even though I flatshare with James, I hardly see him - if he's not at lectures or out working, he's bringing girls home every other night."

"Gross," said Scorpius pulling a face.

"Tell me about it," grimaced Albus. "Every penny we have is spent on paying rent on our flat, and that's not even counting the cost on travelling about the city centre. The people in my course are nice enough, but I haven't really clicked with anyone else there."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Scorpius sympathetically. "I mean, I love it up here - Pippa is great, and it's nice getting to know Rose better, too...but I miss seeing you every day. You'd think after spending seven years together I'd be sick of the sight of you."

Albus laughed, "Yeah, I didn't think I'd miss your snoring."

"I do not snore!" cried Scorpius indignantly.

"You do!" argued Albus, grinning broadly. "Is it weird that I've missed it? My bedroom's too quiet at night without it."

"I'll make you a recording of my snoring and you can take it home with you as a keepsake," he joked.

"No need," smirked Albus. "I can hear your snores from London just fine."

"Haha," Scorpius rolled his eyes. "So, London sucks, James is a crappy roommate and you're doing a course that you're not particularly passionate about."

"That's the gist of it, yeah," said Albus.

"Have you spoken to your mum and dad about this?" asked Scorpius.

"They'll just tell me the same thing they always do," he argued then put on a high-pitched mocking voice. "'You need to try harder, Albus. You need to make more friends, Albus. Why can't you be more like your brother and sister, Albus?'"

Scorpius snorted, "The same old shit."

"Yup," sighed Albus taking an aggressive bite out of his burger. "I don't want to give them another reason to believe I'm a disappointment to them. Although, I don't know why I bother. It's not like it matters what I do, it'll never be to their satisfaction."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at Albus, "Since when have you let your parents' wishes dictate your actions?"

"Never," he admitted.

"Well, if you're not happy about your situation, make a change," argued Scorpius. "You're living life for yourself, no-one else. Tell me, what makes you happy?"

 _You_ , Albus thought immediately. The thought rung loud and clear in his mind, and it rattled him to his core. He knew it was true, but didn't entirely know himself what he meant by it. Scorpius sat patiently, waiting for Albus to answer, but Albus didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell Scorpius that he was the only thing that made him truly happy, he didn't want him to take it the wrong way. Well, what way did he want him to take it? What way had he even meant it?

"Albus, are you alright?" asked Scorpius. Albus snapped out of his daydream and looked up at Scorpius, his steely gaze fixed on his, looking concerned.

 _Oh god._

He tried to suppress the thought, but he couldn't squash the feeling. He knew exactly what he meant.


	4. Augur

Albus lay in bed later that night, his mind racing. He listened to Scorpius snoring softly beside him, wondering how the hell this had even happened.

After the ice-skating they'd come back to the flat and watched television for the rest of the day in relative silence. Scorpius had asked him several times what was wrong, but Albus shrugged him off saying he just had a headache. It wasn't like he could tell him.

 _Sorry Scorp, but I think I've fallen in love with you._

No. Albus didn't even want to imagine the look of horror his best friend would pull if he admitted that.

 _Fuck_.

Albus rubbed his tired eyes but he knew he wouldn't be having a restful night's sleep tonight. He replayed in his mind all the moments leading up the point where he realised his feelings for Scorpius were more than platonic in nature. When had he become so attentive to the actions of Scorpius' lips when he spoke, the way the corner of his lips tugged when he laughed? When had he first noticed the little flecks of gold in Scorpius' grey eyes, or how soft his hands were when he had guided Albus across the ice rink? How thrilling and frightening and right it had felt when Scorpius had pulled their bodies closer together to stop him from falling?

He turned onto his side and hugged his knees close to his chest, a maelstrom of emotions brewing inside of him. Admittedly, their relationship had always been intense, but Albus had always put that down to the fact that they spent so much time together - they lived, studied, ate and slept in the same room together for seven years. They were best friends. Who wasn't this close to their best friend?

Who got butterflies in their stomach every time their best friend smiled at them? Who wondered how soft their best friend's lips would be if they kissed?

Too many questions, all with difficult answers that Albus didn't care to admit, even to himself. Careful not to rouse Scorpius, Albus slowly climbed out of the bed and snuck as quietly as possible into the kitchen. Tea and isolation is what he needed right now. And maybe a slice of toast.

Albus stood staring into space as he waited for the kettle to boil, trying to untangle the mess of his own feelings. He tried to convince himself that it was just a silly crush, but deep down he knew better. Christ, what was he going to do? Why did his emotions have to betray him like this? Couldn't he just have five minutes in his life without there being some kind of drama? Albus was so lost in his morose thoughts he didn't hear someone entering the kitchen.

"Evening," Pippa greeted him brightly. Albus jumped and spilt milk on the counter.

"Shit," he muttered, mopping up the mess with a kitchen towel. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I only just got in, actually," she explained, collapsing into a chair at the small kitchen table. "We stayed in the club after our shift ended. How come you're still up?"

"Can't sleep," he grumbled, avoiding her gaze. The last thing he needed was a Legilimens looking inside his head, not when his thoughts were in total disarray.

"Ooh, is the kettle just boiled?" she asked, kicking off her shoes and rubbing her sore feet. "Can I have a cup?"

"Sure," he sighed. "Tea or coffee?"

"Coffee," she said. "Black, no sugar."

Albus quickly assembled her coffee and sat the cup on the table for her before turning his back on her again, hoping that would be the end of the conversation. But Pippa wasn't taking the hint.

"Are you and Scorpius busy next weekend?" she asked. Albus shrugged and said nothing.

"We're having a Christmas party in the flat," she continued without prompting. "Just a few workmates and uni friends. You boys coming or have you got other plans?"

Hoping that they did in fact have alternate plans that night, he replied, "I'll need to check with him."

"Cool, 'cause it'd be good to get to know you better. Scorp-" Albus bristled at her using his nickname for him. "He talks about you all the time and I'd love for us to get to know each other better while you're here."

"Yeah, sure," he replied noncommittally, tapping his index finger impatiently waiting for the toaster to pop. It always seemed to take longer when he wanted it to hurry up.

"You're single, right?" she asked boldly.

 _None of your bloody business_ , he thought.

"Yes," he replied with a slight edge to his voice.

"Scorp's single, too," she noted casually.

 _I know that_ , he thought irritably. Well, he assumed that he was. He hadn't mentioned anybody…

"The party could be you boy's opportunity to branch out - meet new people, maybe find a lucky lady or laddie to hook with, eh?" she teased. Albus didn't answer, but his insides squirmed at the thought of Scorpius hooking up with anyone.

"Or, perhaps not…" she began slowly, peering at him over the top of her mug with interest. Albus held his breath. Surely she didn't know. She couldn't be that good…

"I've already told you, Albus. I'm very discreet," she continued gently. "I won't say anything to Scorpius."

Albus' face burned red with embarrassment. Great. So she already knew. He turned and stared at her for a few moments, trying to temper the storm of emotions and thoughts that whirled inside of him.

"Whatever you think you saw in my head…" he said quietly. "It's not what you think."

"I haven't seen anything in your head that isn't already written all over your face," she argued. "You've a terrible poker face, Albus. Even Rose has noticed."

Albus gaped at her, "What do you mean, 'even Rose has noticed'? I've only just got here, I- have you two been talking about this?" he spluttered. Pippa's face broke out into a mischievous grin.

"Rose was under the impression something was going on between you two while you were still at school, but when Scorp said he was single we figured that wasn't the case. Don't worry about it! She's not going to say anything, either," she assured him, laughing at the look of horror on his face.

"Since school? Why would she think that?" he asked indignantly. Pippa raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you saying you haven't felt like this since school? I hate to break it to you Albus, but I already know the answer to that question, so there's no point lying to me, or yourself for that matter," Albus groaned and turned his back on her, wishing she would just shut up, already. Pippa continued, "Although, if you want my advice-"

"I don't," he cut in. The toaster popped and he quickly slapped butter and jam onto the toast.

"I think you should just tell him how you feel," Pippa pressed on. "You've been feeling this way for a long time, and the feelings aren't going to go away, however much you wish them to."

Albus spun around and glared at her, "Can you stop doing that?"

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Poking about in my head!" he hissed, brandishing a slice of toast at her. "I don't even know you and you're bringing things up I've barely had a chance to get my own head around!"

"Sorry, force of habit," she grimaced. "But you do like Scorp, don't you?"

Albus didn't answer. Pippa smiled.

"Oh man, this is awesome!" she cried excitedly. "You and Scorp together; it's just too cute!"

"This is not awesome or cute!" he snapped. "This is a disaster! I can't- Why the hell am I talking to you about this? I barely know you!"

He grabbed his plate and hurried out of the kitchen towards the living room, hoping that Pippa would take the hint and leave him alone. But Pippa was nothing if not persistent.

"I know it's nerve-wracking spilling your guts to someone," she continued following him into the living room. "I remember when I told Rose how I felt about her, I was terrified..."

"This is different," he argued sitting on the edge of the couch with his plate on his knees.

"I don't see how," she shrugged, crossing her arms and looming over him. "You're both single. The only way to find out how he feels is to ask."

Albus rolled his eyes. She made it sound so easy and straight-forward when it was anything but. He took a large bite out of his toast and said nothing.

"Why are you so reluctant to tell him how you feel?" she asked interestedly. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Albus drew her an incredulous look, "Are you being serious? What's the worst that could happen…" he shook his head in disbelief. "When you told Rose how you felt, you had nothing to lose. But Scorpius is my best friend. We've been through everything together, we know everything - almost everything - about each other. If I told him I had feelings for him, which I don't…" Pippa rolled her eyes in disbelief, but said nothing. "...and he didn't feel the same way, I could lose my best friend. It's not worth the risk."

"It's not worth the risk to be truly happy?" she challenged.

"It's not worth losing my him over feelings that I don't even entirely understand myself," he countered.

"So what?" she asked frowning. "You're just going to keep it to yourself?"

"Yes!" he snapped, slamming his plate onto the coffee table and jumping to his feet. He'd had enough. "And I'd appreciate it if you and Rose kept your opinions to yourselves from now on. Whatever you saw- think you saw in my head, it's not up for discussion." He strode towards the living room door. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Pippa."

"Okay, I promise we won't raise it with you again. But I really think you should talk to him about this," she implored. "You might be surprised-"

Albus rounded on her then, "I don't care what you think. Let's make one thing clear - whatever is going on in my head is none of your fucking business. Same goes for Rose. Understood?"

Pippa glared. She said nothing for a moment then gave a curt nod and muttered, "Understood."

"Good," he spat. "Just forget what you saw and stay out of my head."

Albus turned to leave and paused when Pippa added, "You don't need to be psychic to see how you feel, Albus. Don't think that Scorpius hasn't noticed you acting differently around him, either. He's just too damn polite to say anything about it yet. But you know what? You keep going on about how you and Scorpius are best friends; if you were really as good a friends as you say you are, then you would trust him enough to tell him the truth, no matter what the outcome may be."

Pippa pushed passed him then and Albus stared after her. He felt like her words had slapped him across the face leaving him temporarily stunned.

Crawling back into bed, Albus stared up at the dark ceiling feeling worse than ever. He knew that Pippa was right. He hated that she was right. But what was to be done? Now that Rose and Pippa knew, it only felt like a matter of time before Scorpius found out, too. Albus covered his face in his hands and sighed. He wanted to scream, but instead he cried, silent tears streaming down his cheeks and into his hair.

He was so fucked.


	5. The Hopping Pot

The next few days were a blur of activity, so much so that Albus had mercifully little contact with Pippa since their late night conversation. Although the few times they had crossed paths entering and leaving the flat, she had drawn him meaningful looks that he chose to ignore. Instead Albus continued to live in a hell of his own making.

He had tried reasoning with himself, tried dismissing the growing feelings inside of him as nothing more than a passing crush. But as the days passed, Albus knew the truth of the matter. He was constantly aware of Scorpius' presence, every touch - however innocent - was driving him to distraction; the occasional brush of their elbows when they walked together, the way their knees knocked together when they sat together during mealtimes. Night times were the worst when they lay in bed together, Scorpius splaying arms and legs across Albus as he lay stiff as a board trying to wish away the distracting thoughts and feelings for his best friend that now dominated his every waking hour.

This was not a passing infatuation.

It was something much more terrifying.

Love.

Christ, just thinking the word and everything that it entailed scared him shitless. How could he have let this happen?

He had spent the last few days brooding, trying to reconcile his own feelings and had gotten nowhere. He found that trying ignore his feelings, pushing them deep down in the hopes that they would go away, had only made things worse. Not only was he pining for his best friend at arm's length, he had taken to dreaming about him every night into the bargain - dreams that if Pippa were to stumble across would surely make her blush. Merlin, they made Albus blush.

He still had three weeks of his holiday left. He both wanted it to end immediately and to go on forever. He wanted to be close to Scorpius, closer than a best friend was permitted to be, and it was driving him crazy.

Albus had never felt so alone in his entire life. The very person who he would normally confide in was the one person he could not turn to this time. And he was not keen to talk to either Pippa or Rose about his feelings. But he had to talk to someone.

Only one other person came to mind.

As a particularly cold Tuesday morning dawned, Albus watched the pale beams of sunlight crawl across the ceiling, glancing at his watch every few minutes waiting for the hand to strike five o'clock. His father was an early riser, so Albus knew if he messaged him in the morning he'd catch him just as he was getting out of bed. His checked his watch again - one minute passed five. He clicked send on a pre-written text message.

Albus: Dad, ru free 2 meet with me 2day? It's an emergency.

Albus lay in bed waiting patiently for a reply, listening to Scorpius breathing gently beside him. It was a pleasant sound that normally lulled him to sleep, but the last few nights it had had the opposite effect. Albus felt the phone vibrate in his hand and he checked the message.

Dad: I can meet you at 1pm if that suits?

Dad: Do you need me to send you money?

Albus: 1 is fine. I'm good 4 cash, thanks. Where will we meet?

Dad: Meet you in The Hopping Pot at the top of Cockburn Street?

Albus: Great. CU then.

Albus: Thank you.

Albus let out a long sigh of relief. He and his father might have their differences, but Albus knew he could always rely on him to have his back when he needed it. Ignoring the chorus of morning songbirds twittering outside the bedroom window, he closed his eyes and finally fell into a restless sleep. He had nightmares about Scorpius finding out about his true feelings, being angry and disgusted at him for it and throwing him out of the flat. More bad dreams followed, this time his father admonishing him, telling him what a disappointment of a son he was. Dark thoughts and unsettling dreams swirled in his head and when he finally woke he felt as tired and irritable as ever.

Sunlight poured through the windows now and Albus shielded his eyes, puffy and crusted with sleep. He turned and saw that the bed was empty. It must have been almost noon but Scorpius had let Albus rest. A cup of cold tea sat on the bedside table and Albus felt his chest swell with affection at this small act of kindness.

He sat up slowly, his movements as sluggish as his brain. He downed the cold tea in two large gulps, hoping the injection of caffeine would help wake him up. Shuffling into the kitchen he found Scorpius sitting alone at the kitchen table, looking forlorn.

"Morning," croaked Albus sitting his empty cup in the sink.

"Afternoon," Scorpius greeted him. "Albus…"

"Hmm?" asked Albus taking the empty seat next to Scorpius.

"Have I...have I done or said something to upset you?" he asked looking up at Albus, his eyes wide with concern. Albus felt his stomach squirm.

"No, you haven't done anything," he replied, lowering his gaze. Shit, he was a terrible liar and Scorpius knew it.

"Are you sure?" he implored. "It's just that...the last few days, you haven't really seemed yourself. I've been racking my brain trying to think if it's the way I've acted or…If I've done something to make you feel uncomfortable, I'm sorry-"

"I'm fine, Scorpius," he lied. "I'm just...not sleeping that well."

"I've noticed that, too," said Scorpius quietly. "You seem to have a lot on your mind. If it's not me, has something happened? You know you can trust me. I won't tell anyone."

"Of course I trust you," Albus assured him. He instinctively reached out to grab Scorpius' hand but caught himself and paused, pulling his hand back and sitting it on his lap. "I want to tell you, but I can't figure out the right words."

"So something is bothering you?" he implored. "Please Albus, just tell me what it is. I want to help."

"You can't," he argued. He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes, "I promise I will tell you when I'm ready. Just...not right now. I want to get the words right first. Okay?"

Scorpius' shoulders sagged and he nodded, "Okay."

"Thank you," said Albus quietly.

Scorpius cleared his throat and asked with forced airiness, "Well, what do you fancy doing today? I thought we could visit Arthur's Seat; it's a bit of a trek, but you get a spectacular view of the city."

"I can't today," said Albus sheepishly. "I uh, need to head out this afternoon to meet my dad."

Scorpius frowned. "Your dad's in the city? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, he's fine. He had to come for work," lied Albus. Merlin, he hated lying to Scorpius, "He wants to meet me for lunch before he heads back home."

"You want me to come with you?" asked Scorpius. "It'd be nice to see him again, I haven't spoken to him since graduation."

"No," Albus replied a little too firmly because it made Scorpius frown. "I mean, it's just a quick visit. I won't be too long, we can go out later today if you want?"

Scorpius nodded, still frowning, "Well, okay. Do you know where you're meeting him?"

"Cockburn Street," said Albus.

"And you're alright getting there on your own?" asked Scorpius.

"I'll be fine," Albus assured him with a wry smile. "You've already marched me through every street in Edinburgh, I'm practically a local now."

Scorpius smiled and rose to his feet, "Okay, if you're sure. You look really tired, do you want a Pepper-Up Potion before heading out?"

"Yeah, that'd be great thanks," smiled Albus. When Scorpius disappeared out of the kitchen Albus immediately dropped his smile and sighed. He didn't expect his father to have all the answers, but he needed to talk to someone about this.

* * *

Albus managed to find a small table by the fireplace in the Hopping Pot, still trying to work out in the moments before his father arrived what he was going to say. Suddenly the fireplace erupted in green flames and his father stepped into the cosy pub. Brushing ash out of his messy black hair he scanned the room for his son.

"Dad," greeted Albus, rising to his feet. Harry's face broke out into a warm smile and he pulled him into a tight hug.

"It's good to see you," he said, pulling back to take a look at Albus. "I think you've grown since the last time I saw you."

"You always say that," laughed Albus. "Do you want a drink?"

"I'll get it," Harry offered, already heading to the bar. "What do you want?"

"Just a butterbeer, thanks," he called, sitting back down at the table. Albus watched as a couple patrons stared at his father and whispered. He rolled his eyes - he couldn't even get a moment's peace in here. He didn't know how his father put up with the constant attention. Albus was snapped out of his daydream as his father plonked a chilled bottle of butterbeer in front of him.

"How've you been keeping?" he asked, shrugging out of his cloak. Albus shrugged.

"Well enough. Sorry I haven't been to visit much since my course started."

Harry waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it, I understand you've been busy. We hardly saw hide nor hair of James in his first year of uni, either. But I'd appreciate it if you popped along on Christmas Day for a bit, your mother misses you."

"I will," he promised. He took a swig of his butterbeer and asked, "How's work?"

"Busy," Harry sighed.

"Nothing new there, then," Albus noted.

"Nope," Harry took a sip of his Firewhisky before continuing. "I assumed when you sent a text instead of calling me this morning, you weren't at death's door."

"No," said Albus. Harry sat waiting expectantly for Albus to continue, but he couldn't find the words.

"Well," he asked slowly. "What's the emergency?"

Albus nervously picked the label on his beer bottle, "It's hard to say. I um...when did you first realise that you were in love with Mum?"

Harry raised his eyebrows, surprised. He thought for a moment before answering, "That's a good question. I don't know exactly when, if I'm honest. Although I remember one Potions class - I must have been in my sixth year - and the Professor had brought in a batch of Amortentia for us to look over. I could smell treacle tart - no surprise, there - cedar wood and something floral, but I couldn't figure out at the time what it was."

"What was it?" asked Albus.

"Your mother's hair," said Harry softly, his face taking on a dreamy expression. Albus rolled his eyes. Even after all these years, his parents were still goo-goo eyes for each other.

"So you knew even then?" asked Albus, snapping his father out of his pleasant daydream. Harry shook his head.

"I didn't know for certain. I'm not sure if there was a particular moment when I realised - maybe it was a series of moments; I started thinking up any excuse to go and talk to her, just to be close to her. I thought about her all the time…"

"Did you dream about her, too?" Albus asked, his cheeks burning red. Harry gave him a mischievous grin.

"Yeah, I dreamt about her a few times, too. Merlin, I was like a love-sick pup. But I was too shy for a long time to say anything to her. However, the benefit of hindsight and experience tells me that I was in love with her, even then," He gave Albus a searching look. "Why do you ask?"

Albus' blush deepened in colour and he lowered his gaze. Harry's eyes widened.

"Albus," he said quietly. "Are you in love?"

"I think so," he admitted. Harry beamed.

"What's her name?" he asked. Albus' stomach churned. He knew his father would assume it was a girl.

"I'd rather not say," he replied evasively, but this merely served to pique his father's interests.

"Do I know her?" he asked. Leaning closer, he whispered, "Is it Polly Chapman?"

"What? No!" cried Albus in indignation. "Merlin, no. Never her."

Harry smirked, "Alright, you don't have to tell me. But whoever she is, she must be pretty special to win your heart."

Albus groaned. Maybe talking to his dad wasn't such a great idea after all.

"So, you're in love," said Harry, looking proud as punch. "What's the problem? Has she got a boyfriend or something?"

"It's complicated," said Albus, eyes still fixed on his beer bottle. "I don't know if - I mean, I don't think - they'd feel the same way about me. But they're...well, they're a good friend of mine, you see. I want to tell them how I feel, but I'm afraid that if I do it'll ruin the friendship. I don't want to lose them, but I don't think I can keep this to myself any longer. I feel like I'm going crazy - I think about them all the time, even when I'm with them. I've never felt like this before and I'm scared shitless about it."

The feelings Albus had been keeping locked up poured out of him like a broken faucet. Harry nodded sympathetically, "I know how you feel. It was the same with your mother and I; she was a good friend of mine and I was terrified that if I admitted my feelings to her and she rejected me, I'd lose her as a friend, too. Plus, I had your Uncle Ron to contend with; I thought he'd kill me if he found out how I felt about her."

"But everything was okay," said Albus hopefully.

"Yeah, it was," smiled Harry, adding lightly. "I took a chance and thankfully it paid off. Lucky for you it did, otherwise you wouldn't have been born."

"We both know I'm not as lucky as you in most things," said Albus glumly.

"It's not about having luck," said Harry, then noting the withering look his son gave him he relented. "Okay, a little bit of luck never did anyone any harm. But this girl, whoever she is, she makes you happy?"

Albus sighed and nodded, "Yes."

"And you think you could make her happy, too?" he asked. Albus thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah, I think I could," he replied. Harry's grin widened.

"Then you've got to tell her," he implored keenly. "Whoever this girl is, she'd be lucky to have you, Al. You just need to be brave and admit how you feel. You know what? If I were you, I'd march straight out of here and go tell her how-"

"It's Scorpius," Albus blurted out. Harry frowned.

"Scorpius is what?" he asked. Albus' squeezed his eyes shut and said it again.

"I'm not talking about some girl, Dad, I'm talking about Scorpius," he admitted, his insides twisting painfully with fear and shame. "That's who I'm in love with. It's him…"

His voice trailed off. He held his breath and waited for his father to explode. A long silence followed.

"You...you're in love with Scorpius?" asked Harry finally.

Merlin, don't make me say it again, thought Albus. He nodded.

"Are you sure?" he asked uncertainly. Albus opened his eyes and glared at his father.

"Yes dad, I'm sure!" he snapped. "You think I'd ask you up here to talk it through if I wasn't? Christ…"

Harry stared at his son for a few moments as he processed this new and unexpected development. He swiftly downed his drink and placed it carefully on the table, looking thoughtful. After a moment he nodded and said, "Okay."

Albus stared at his father in disbelief.

"Okay?" he asked incredulously. "That's it?"

Harry shrugged, "Well, I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not surprised. But I can see why you came to me about it. I'm glad you did."

"And you're…" Albus was fighting back tears now. "You're okay with it?"

Now it was Harry's turn to look incredulous, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I dunno. I thought you'd be disappointed," he admitted in a small voice. Harry gaped at his son.

"Disappointed in you," he repeated weakly. He reached out and squeezed his son's shoulder. "You're smart, hard-working, stubborn as hell..." Albus choked out a laugh and rolled his eyes, but Harry continued. "You're kind and loving and...you're braver than you think. The very last thing you are to me is a disappointment. I'm proud of you, son. Every single day."

Albus was too choked up to speak so he just nodded.

"Now, are you absolutely sure of your feelings?" asked Harry.

"Yes, Dad," groaned Albus. "This isn't some silly crush."

"Okay, okay," said Harry gently, raising his hands defensively. "I only ask because you know once you tell him how you feel, there's no turning back, regardless of what he says."

"I know that," said Albus miserably. "That's why I'm freaking out so much."

"I don't blame you," Harry grimaced. "But if you feel as strongly about Scorpius as I did about your mother, it sounds to me like you're going to need to take a chance, too. I think you'll regret it, otherwise."

"What if he doesn't feel the same way?" asked Albus. It was what he most feared.

"Then you'll need to accept that you don't want the same thing," sighed Harry. "If that's what happens, come home and we can talk about it. You're not alone in this, okay?"

Albus nodded, fat tears streaming down his face. Harry pulled him into a tight hug. Other patrons were openly gawking at them now, but neither of them cared.

"Being in love is never something to feel ashamed of, son," said Harry gently. "Live courageously and honestly, Albus. And always love without limits. There's no such thing as too much love."

"Thanks, Dad," murmured Albus, his voice muffled in his dad's shoulder. It surprised him how much better he felt just saying it aloud.

Harry wiped away a tear and asked, "So do you want to get out of here for a bit? I actually fancy getting something for lunch."

Albus gave his dad a watery smile, "Yeah, that'd be nice."

Harry paused as he pulled on his cloak and asked, "Eh, this thing with you and Scorpius. Should I tell your mother, or..?"

"I'll tell her," Albus assured him. Harry visible relaxed.

"Right, of course. Let's get some food in us then, I'm bloody starving," he said patting Albus on the back and leading him out of the pub and back into the bitter cold city street.

Albus knew his dad was right - he would have to say something.

Even if it meant the end of their friendship, he had to come clean. He felt like he was lying to Scorpius and himself by hiding his true feelings, but he was terrified at losing his best friend. Wasn't it better to have Scorpius in his life as just a friend than not at all? Was being honest really worth running the risk of losing him forever?


	6. Date Night

Talking to his dad lifted a huge weight off of Albus' shoulders, but three days had passed and he still hadn't mustered up the courage to tell Scorpius how he really felt. He was enjoying his holiday too much, he reasoned. He didn't want to ruin it. Not yet. He'd tell him tomorrow. Honestly.

Scorpius attempted to cheer up his gloomy best friend by taking him to all the best tourist attractions Edinburgh had to offer; orientating between exploring the many winding, cobbled side streets in the ancient city and dipping into various coffee shops, museums and galleries to warm up before venturing outside again. Albus was enjoying seeing the city and could see why Scorpius loved it so much - the locals were much friendlier than Londonders, and there was always something new to see and do.

Today Scorpius was particularly excited because they were visiting Edinburgh castle. As they wandered through the grounds Scorpius pointed things out, telling Albus all about the castle's central role in a long history of conflicts - the reign of the Stuarts, the Jacobite uprising, the Wars of Scottish Independence...

As they wandered along the perimeter of the fortress, Albus marveled at the view of the frozen city far below. The low sun reflected off of the frosty ground making it sparkle like diamonds. He expected it looked even more beautiful when it snowed.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Scorpius pointing out the cityscape. Albus glanced at his friend and felt the heat rise in his neck. He couldn't help but steal little glances at him every so often and each time he felt the same fluttering sensation spread across his chest. It was as thrilling as it was disconcerting.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed, lowering his gaze.

"Don't let its appearance deceive you, this castle has a pretty dark history," warned Scorpius, leaning over a medieval bombard. "They burned a Muggle to death here, once; James the fifth had this poor woman - Lady Jane Douglas - tried and convicted of witchcraft, then they burned her alive in front of her husband and son."

"That's barbaric," said Albus pulling a face in disgust.

"I know, right?" Scorpius shook his head in disbelief. "There are a lot of things I like about Muggles, but they have a curious fear and hatred for anything that they don't understand. I mean, it wasn't like she was even a real witch. Poor woman…"

"How do you know all of these stories?" asked Albus, joining Scorpius to lean over the old canon.

"Grandad," he said simply. "When he found out I was coming to Edinburgh to study, he made a point of telling me as many gruesome stories about Muggles torturing and killing magic folk as possible."

Albus snorted, "Of course he did."

"Yeah, he's awfully predictable that way," smirked Scorpius. "But trying to use fear to discourage me from leaving only made me more interested in coming here. This city has a lot of history, it's fascinating."

Albus smiled fondly at him, "I'm glad you're enjoying it so much."

"I'm enjoying it more now that you're here!" said Scorpius keenly. "It's all very interesting of course, but it's better to have someone to share the experiences with."

"Oh, definitely," agreed Albus, blowing on his cold hands and rubbing them together, trying to heat them up. "But next time invite me when it isn't so bloody cold, eh?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes, "You forgot your gloves, again?"

"I don't have any gloves," he admitted. Scorpius wrapped his hands around Albus' and he drew in a sharp breath.

"Fucking hell, Albus, you're freezing!" he said, rubbing Albus' hands and blowing his hot breath on them.

"I'm fine," he argued weakly, enjoying the heat from Scorpius' hands. He couldn't help but notice how silky smooth and warm Scorpius' hands felt against his own. The fluttering sensation inside of his chest grew, catching his breath. He watched intently as Scorpius' fingers gently grazed against his own, then stilled. Was this normally how friends held hands?

"You need to take better care of yourself," said Scorpius softly, his hands still clasped gently around Albus'. "You don't want to get sick."

"Maybe that's been my intention all along," he joked. "Make myself sick so you need to wait on me hand and foot for the duration of the holiday."

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" laughed Scorpius.

"Getting to boss you about?" teased Albus. "Absolutely."

Scorpius shook his head, "Rose would be better at taking care of you. She's the one training to be a Healer."

Albus snorted, "Hardly. She'd sooner pack me off to St. Mungo's than have me interrupt her studies."

"Well, then I'd just have to play doctor until you got better," said Scorpius silkily. A pleasant shiver shot through Albus at the almost-sultry way Scorpius said that. Albus looked up into Scorpius' eyes then and felt a swooping feeling at the way Scorpius was looking at him; both intense and full of affection. Albus had the sudden and overwhelming desire to kiss Scorpius then, but he remained stock-still, staring up at him as his emotions played havoc inside of him. Scorpius gave Albus a searching look and moved his face incrementally closer, unconsciously tightening his grip on Albus' hands. Albus' mind seemed to have frozen. Not consciously aware of what was about to happen but not resisting it either, he held his breath as Scorpius' mouth moved closer...

Suddenly Scorpius' phone buzzed in his pocket and he paused. The tension between them hung in the air for a moment before it evaporated into the cool winter air. Scorpius cleared his throat and his hands slipped from Albus' to answer his phone.

"Hey, what's up?" he sighed, his soft expression replaced with a stern one. Albus tried to shake his head clear. Surely Scorpius wasn't about to kiss him? No...he only wanted him to do that. He was looking into this too deeply.

 _Get a grip of yourself_ , he thought fiercely. Now was not the time to bring up his stupid feelings. But then when would be?

After a few moments chatting on the phone, Scorpius covered the mouthpiece and looked at Albus, "Rose is asking if we want to meet for lunch. You fancy it?"

He gave a noncommittal shrug, "Sure, why not?"

Scorpius uncovered the mouthpiece and said, "Sounds good. Where are you? Alright, see you soon." Slipping his phone back into his back pocket he said, "She's at CC Blooms. It's not too far from here."

"Alright," Albus nodded shoving his hands deep into his coat pockets. "I'm ready to head anyway, I'm freezing my arse off out here."

"I'm not heating up your arse, Albus," teased Scorpius. "You can do that one on your own."

Albus gave a weak laugh, trying and failing to temper his imagination as to how exactly Scorpius would do just that. He was thankful that Scorpius wasn't a skilled Legilimens. Having one living under the same roof was already proving to be more trouble than it was worth.

It was easy to find Rose in the bar because she was the only person with a pile of books stacked at her table. She barely glanced up when Scorpius and Albus sat down, too absorbed reading a sizeable medical textbook.

"Have a nice day?" she asked without looking up.

"Yeah, the castle was fun," said Scorpius dumping his coat over the chair. He looked at Albus and asked, "What do you want to drink?"

"I'll just have the same as you, thanks," he replied. Scorpius playfully ruffled Albus' hair before heading up to the bar. A little tickle travelled up his spine as he watched Scorpius wander over to the barman to get their drinks. Scorpius looked nice again, today. Of course, he always looked nice. He really suited skinny jeans with his blue cotton checked shirt, sleeves rolled up showing off his pale, slender arms...

"If you stare any harder at his arse, his trousers will fall off," mused Rose.

Albus' head snapped around towards his cousin who was watching him closely. He blushed furiously and muttered, "Shut up. I wasn't staring at his arse."

"Yes, you were," she stated matter-of-factly. "Your pupils are dilated and you blushed when he touched you a moment ago; classic indicators of sexual attraction."

"Keep your voice down!" he hissed glancing over his shoulder to make sure that nobody - namely Scorpius - could hear them. He glared at his cousin, "Merlin, you and Pippa are as subtle as a bloody erumpent in a china shop."

Rose snorted, "Speak for yourself, I'm not the one going all googly-eyed over my best friend."

"I am not!" he protested, his cheeks turning an even deeper shade of crimson.

"What's the big deal?" she shrugged, looking completely unruffled. "My mum and dad were best friends all the way through school before they eventually got together. I don't know what the problem is; you're both single, you both like each other - seems like a fairly natural progression to me."

With that she lifted her book back up and hid her face behind it, leaving Albus reeling.

"Hold up," he said, pushing the book down to see her face again. "What do you mean he likes me, too? I mean-" He quickly corrected himself, "What makes you think he likes me? Like that?"

Rose raised an eyebrow curiously, "Isn't it obvious?"

"What's obvious?" he hissed, beginning to lose his temper. Rose sat her book down again and gave Albus a hard look.

"There's your body language for starters - constantly mirroring each other, drawing each other these longing looks, touching each other at every possible opportunity," she continued. "Again, classic indicators of sexual-"

"Stop saying that!" he seethed. "How would you even notice something like that? You've always got your nose in a bloody book."

"I'm busy with my studies, yes, but I'm not blind," she drawled. "It's not a criticism, Albus, merely an observation."

She raised her book again and continued to read in silence. It took a few moments for the weight of Rose's words to sink in. His heart began to race at the sheer thrill of the possibility of what she was saying.

"You...you think he likes me?" he asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Rose sighed and lowered her book again, "Of course, he does. He never bloody shuts up about you. I thought that once you two met up again, you'd quickly realise that you're both crazy about each other and resolve this simmering sexual tension that's been brewing for years."

"Simmering sexual tension?" he repeated, aghast. "What are you on about?"

Rose ignored him and continued. "But you've both been beating around the bush for days now. Years, really. I figured unless I said something, you would continue this pointless dance for the duration of your visit. So I suggest that you have a little chat with Scorpius about this, as Pippa already suggested you should. Tonight is the perfect opportunity."

"Tonight?" repeated Albus weakly.

"It's date night," Rose explained. "Pippa and I will be out all evening. Plenty opportunity for you two to talk through your feelings and decide one way or another what's happening."

"I wouldn't even know where to begin telling him how I- hold on," Albus frowned at her. "Did you only invite us here to tell me I should talk to Scorpius?"

"Of course not. It may come as a surprise to you, but I do actually enjoy your company, Albus," she clipped.

"Here you go, honey," came a familiar voice. Albus snapped his head around to see Pippa standing at his side with a plate and drink in her hands. "Diet coke and chilli nachos - on the house, of course."

She gave her girlfriend a sultry wink before greeting Albus, "Are you staying for lunch, Al? You and Scorp will need to pay for yours, I'm afraid."

"What are you doing here?" he asked obtusely. Pippa raised an eyebrow at him.

"I work here, obviously. Believe me, the apron is not a fashion statement," she quipped. Her eyes drifted towards the bar, "So what'll you be having today? Scorp with a side of the tall, dark and handsome fellow he's talking to?"

Rose and Albus both turned towards the bar this time. Sure enough, Scorpius was chatting to some guy at the bar - dark hair, taller than Albus, and pretty fit-looking, too. Albus felt his stomach twist unpleasantly. Whoever this man was, Albus didn't like the look of him.

"Maybe he's just being friendly while they wait for Paul to serve their drinks," said Pippa unconvincingly. The other man smiled broadly and gently placed his hand at the bottom of Scorpius' back, taking a step closer to whisper something in his ear. Pippa cleared her throat and scribbled something onto her notepad, "Maybe not, then."

A hot flare of jealousy sparked up in Albus. Who was this prick?

"I could tell you his name and address if it interests you," said Pippa peering at the man intently. "Calum Mcbride, Glaswegian, Muggle-born, studies at Heriot Watt. Ooh, he wants to be an Aeronautical Engineer, how interesting…"

"Why don't you go ask for his phone number, Pippa?" quipped Rose. "You seem more into him that Scorpius is."

"Oh, I'm definitely not his type," laughed Pippa. "Scorp is though; tall, blonde, and- what the hell is a twink?"

Rose snorted and Albus fought the overwhelming urge to jump up there and say something - preferably telling this chancer to fuck off and leave his mate alone - but he remained rooted to the spot. He knew he had no right to be jealous.

"If it bothers you that much, go say something," Pippa suggested. Albus tore his eyes away from the pair and crossed his arms.

"Scorpius is perfectly within his rights to talk to whomever he pleases..." he grumbled.

"Even if they are tall, dark, handsome arseholes," she finished. Albus glared at her.

"I thought I asked you to cut that out," he pointed out.

"Sorry," she grimaced. "Force of habit."

"No matter," said Rose lightly, disappearing behind her book again. "Albus is going to speak to Scorpius tonight while we're out at dinner."

"You are?" asked Pippa, her eyes wide with surprise. She gave Albus an appraising punch on the shoulder, "Good for you, Al! Glad you've finally decided to bite the bullet on this. _Carpe Diem_ , I say!"

Albus opened his mouth to tell her for the last time to stop calling him Al, but quickly closed it as he saw Scorpius return to the table carrying two pints.

"Here you go," said Scorpius cheerfully, carefully placing a glass in front of Albus and sinking into the spare seat next to him. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing," said Albus, Rose and Pippa in unison.


	7. The Richest Man

Albus, Scorpius and Rose spent the duration of the afternoon in the pub and when Pippa's shift finished at five o'clock, the four friends made there way back to the flat. Albus kept drawing Scorpius sly glances on the way back to the flat, Rose's bombshell claim at the forefront of his mind. The mere possibility that Scorpius might feel the same way filled Albus with elation, but with each step they took towards the flat he felt dread grip him anew. It was like invisible rocks of fear were weighing him down, making it difficult to even breath. If Rose and Pippa were wrong about this...well, it didn't even bear thinking about.

When they were a couple streets shy of the flat, Scorpius squeezed Albus' elbow and said, "I'm just popping to the shop to grab a few things. I'll meet you back at the flat, alright?"

Without waiting for Albus' response he waved them off and veered left down a cobbled side street. Albus watched him leave with a mixture of apprehension and relief; he was glad to have the extra time to figure out what he was going to say, but he wasn't keen to be in the girls' company at that moment in time, knowing exactly what they would bring up the moment Scorpius was out of earshot. Sure enough…

"Al…" began Pippa.

"For the last time my name is Albus, not Al," he grumbled, pushing the flat's broken security door open and ushering them inside.

"I'd like to apologise again," she continued as though Albus hadn't interrupted her. "For looking in your head without your permission. Honestly, I never meant to do it, it's just more difficult around you for some reason."

"It's rude is what it is," he bit back, climbing the stairs to the uppermost floor. "More than that, it's an invasion of privacy. How would you feel if I did it to you?"

"I wouldn't like it one bit," she admitted. "I know that an apology won't do much to appease you - we can't put the genie back in the bottle - but I wanted you to know I am sorry. To be honest, it's difficult to find people who accept my gift - I guess I just got lucky with Rose and Scorp being as understanding about it. Past experience has shown me that they're the exception to the rule."

"What's your point?" he grumbled.

"The point is that you're a guest in this house and I should have been more considerate to you. More importantly, you're Scorpius' best friend. I know you're reluctant to talk to him about how you feel - and I still think you should talk to him - but I know it's not my place to say anything to him about it. It wouldn't be in my best interests to spill the beans on you, would it?" she asked.

Albus thought about it for a moment. He knew from Scorpius' letters that Pippa was his closest friend in Edinburgh and the affection seemed mutual. Pissing Albus off wouldn't exactly work in her favour.

"I suppose not," he relented.

"Scorpius is my friend and the last thing I would do is intentionally hurt him. I know you feel the same way," she continued. "But as Scorpius' friend, I'm going to give you a piece of advice; talk to him. Be honest with him about how you feel. You might be surprised at what he has to say. Tell him in your own time, but please say something."

Albus stopped at the uppermost landing and turned to face the girls, looking forlorn.

"I'm going to talk to him about it," he promised. "It's just difficult to find the right words."

Pippa gave him a sympathetic smile, "You're afraid you'll lose him as a friend."

"I told you not to look into me head," he groaned.

"I don't need to look into your head to know that's what you're thinking. It's written all over your face," quipped Rose. "Seriously Albus, give Scorpius some credit. You've been best friends for years, do you really think he's going to ditch you over this?"

Rose unlocked the door and they all piled into the flat.

"Why do you care so much about what happens between me and Scorpius?" asked Albus curiously. Rose gave him a stern look.

"Because I love you both and I want you both to be happy, of course," she replied simply. Rose wandered into her bedroom, leaving Pippa and a shocked Albus standing in the corridor. Pippa slapped him on the shoulder.

"Come on," she said cheerfully. "Let's have a coffee to heat ourselves up."

Pippa and Albus sat in the kitchen enjoying their hot drinks when Pippa stated, "You're surprised that Rose cares so much for you."

"Honestly, yes," he admitted. "We were...well, you probably already know that we were close growing up. She was my best friend, actually. Then we got to Hogwarts and we got sorted into different houses. We grew apart…" Albus trailed off, remembering those first few difficult days at Hogwarts. James ignoring him hadn't come as much of a surprise - he was two years above Albus; he hadn't expected his big brother to spend much time with him when he had his own circle of friends. But when Rose had distanced herself from him because he had been put in 'the bad house', it had been more hurtful than he could imagine. The only person who would talk to Albus was Scorpius and Albus had wrapped himself up in this new friendship, in part to cope with the loss of another. Albus cleared his throat and shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't remember the details; it was a long time ago."

Pippa nodded solemnly, "It's difficult being an outsider, especially at school. My school experience doesn't sound entirely different from your own."

"Really?" asked Albus with interest. Pippa gave a mirthless laugh.

"You really think being a Legilimens is something that can be kept quiet in a Boarding School full of gossiping teenagers?" she sneered. "You remember being that age - having someone like me around is every kid's worst nightmare. No, I don't think it's all that surprising I was not that popular at school."

"I suppose not," said Albus thoughtfully. "It was Ilvermorny you went to, wasn't it?"

"Yup," sighed Pippa taking another sip of her coffee. "Horned Serpent, through and through."

"I don't know what that means," said Albus flatly. Pippa sniggered.

"Rose said the closest equivalent would be Slytherin House at your school," she smirked.

Albus raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Really? Same as me and Scorpius."

"You seem surprised," she noted, an amused grin spreading across her face. Albus shrugged.

"I figured you'd be a Hufflepuff," he admitted. "But now that I think of it, you'd make a decent Slytherin. They're good at keeping secrets. And are loyal to their friends."

"Why thank you, Albus," she grinned, raising her cup to him in a small toast. "That's quite the compliment."

Albus returned the smile. He hadn't been sure about Pippa when he'd first met her, but on closer inspection, she didn't seem all that bad.

"Oh, that's awful sweet of you to think that, Albus," she crooned, patting him on the arm. Albus rolled his eyes.

"You really need to cut that out," he warned. "It's annoying."

"Sorry," she said lightly, not sounding at all apologetic.

Just then, the front door banged open and Scorpius shuffled into the flat, laden with bags. Albus hurried to help, relieving Scorpius of some of the load.

"What's all this?" he asked, placing the plastic bags on the kitchen table and began emptying them. "Is this supplies for tomorrow night's party?"

"Nope," said Scorpius cheerfully, shrugging out of his coat and tossing it over a chair. "These are our supplies for tonight."

Albus peered into one of the bags and his eyes lit up, "Jelly slugs, chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans...you've went all out."

"I couldn't get Pepper Imps unfortunately, they'd sold out already," said Scorpius. He touched Albus' elbow and said softly, "I know you've been feeling down the last few days, so I thought this might help cheer you up. Since Pippa and Rose are away out tonight, I figured we could make a night of it - stuff our faces on sweets, drink too much and stay up past bedtime watching movies. Sound good?"

Albus gave Scorpius an affectionate smile, "Yeah, that sounds great."

Scorpius and Albus assembled their feast of sweets, popcorn, crisps and beer on the coffee table before getting comfortable on the couch, their movie for the evening at the ready. Rose marched into the living room, hair and make-up done for her night out.

"What movie are you watching?" she asked curiously, pulling on her winter coat.

"Die Hard," said Scorpius. "Albus' choice."

Rose frowned, "I didn't think you liked action movies."

"It's not an action movie," he argued. "It's a Christmas film."

Rose snorted, "Die Hard is not a Christmas movie."

"Is so!" cried Scorpius. "Think about it; John McClane is the weary traveller who comes to his wife's Christmas party bearing gifts."

"Gifts in the form of blood, bullets and explosions," Albus interjected.

"And it's got a great Christmas-themed soundtrack," added Scorpius.

"And Hans Gruber is clearly the Grinch," Pippa added thoughtfully wandering into the living room, her blue hair normally piled in a messy bun on top of her head now styled in elegant ringlets cascading down her back. She smiled at Rose, "Ready to go?"

"And John's wife is called Holly!" Scorpius continued. "The film is steeped in Christmas iconography; ergo, it is a Christmas movie."

Rose rolled her eyes and turned to leave, "Whatever, but it's not a patch on It's A Wonderful Life. See you later."

"Have a good night, boys," said Pippa, giving Albus a small thumbs up of encouragement before she departed.

"You too," called Scorpius, watching after them as they left. As soon as the front door slammed shut he switched off Die Hard and gave Albus a wicked grin, "So what do you actually want to watch? The Notebook? Notting Hill?"

Albus laughed, suppressing the overwhelming desire to kiss Scorpius then, "You're amazing, you know that?"

Scorpius blushed but looked pleased all the same, "I try my best. So what are you in the mood for?"

Albus thought for a moment, "You know, after Rose mentioned it, I quite fancy watching It's A Wonderful Life."

"I've never seen it," Scorpius admitted, scrolling through the list of movies to find it.

"It's a classic," said Albus sinking lower into his seat so he was more comfortable. "We watch it every Christmas at my mum and dad's."

"I don't think my dad's ever seen a Christmas movie before," said Scorpius thoughtfully, mimicking Albus and sliding down lower on the couch and placing a bowl of popcorn between them.

Albus smirked, "You'll need to get him to watch Die Hard at some point, then."

Scorpius snorted at the thought and shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth, pressing play on the remote control before tossing it onto the carpet. The song Buffalo Gals rang out as the opening credits appeared on screen.

"It's in black and white?" asked Scorpius, surprised.

"Yeah, it's pretty old," said Albus. They watched the film in relative silence, Scorpius immediately engrossed in the life and times of film's protagonist, George Bailey. Albus stole sly glances at Scorpius, feeling the familiar fluttering in the pit of his stomach intensify. He knew he had to talk to Scorpius - promised he would - but he looked like he was enjoying the film so much, Albus felt guilty at the prospect of ruining the evening. There was no point souring the mood, he reasoned. Not when they were enjoying themselves so much. He would talk to him tomorrow.

As the evening wore on, Scorpius watched grim-faced as George Bailey ran helplessly through the fictional town of Pottersville, experiencing first hand an alternative life where he hadn't existed. When George collapsed at the grave of his younger brother who had died because he hadn't been there to save him, Scorpius sniffed loudly and subtly wiped a tear away from his eye.

"He doesn't realise just how important he is to the people in his life until it's too late," he choked. "Just because the impact you make isn't immediately clear doesn't mean you haven't made a difference to people's lives."

"Oh, absolutely. It's an interesting thought, though - how different everyone's life would be if you'd never been born?" asked Albus thoughtfully.

"I've seen life without you in it and it was shit," grumbled Scorpius, discarding the empty popcorn bowl onto the coffee table.

"That's only because Voldemort killed my dad in that timeline," Albus pointed out. "It had nothing to do with me. I didn't even exist."

"It had everything to do with you. For a time I got to live George Bailey's nightmare - a world without you in it…" Scorpius shivered and hugged himself. "I don't like to think about it."

"Sorry," said Albus quietly.

"It's alright," said Scorpius. "Seeing how differently things could have turned out, it made me appreciate everything I have in this life."

"Well, for the record I'm glad you fixed the timeline and brought me back into existence," said Albus brightly, trying to lighten the mood.

"You're very welcome," replied Scorpius airily, although his expression remained tense. Albus wanted to make Scorpius feel better, but he struggled to find the right words. Instead he sidled closer to Scorpius and rested his head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said in a serious tone. "I don't like to imagine life without you in it, either. The world would be a much darker place without Scorpius Malfoy."

Scorpius chuckled and Albus felt the tension in his body ease. He put his arm around Albus' shoulder and gave him a light squeeze.

"Do we hug now?" Albus teased. Scorpius sniggered.

"Yes, we do," he replied, resting his head against Albus'. Albus sighed and closed his eyes. This felt nice.

They continued watched the film in silence, Scorpius absent-mindedly tracing circles with the tips of his fingers on Albus' shoulder. It was ticklish but Albus didn't want to move in case Scorpius stopped. When he felt Scorpius' fingertips drift higher, brushing against his neck just above the collar of his shirt, Albus' heart began to pound like a war-drum. Scorpius probably didn't even realise what he was doing and he certainly had no idea the effect it was having on Albus. He sat there, stock-still and afraid to move. Merlin, that felt nice. He really shouldn't be enjoying it this much.

Scorpius shifted his head a little and after a moment he placed a soft kiss on the crown of Albus' head. Albus' mind was racing. He had no idea what was happening on the television screen now, all he could hear was the pounding of his own heart in his ears. He turned his head and looked up at Scorpius then, his gaze fixed on Scorpius' mouth. His bottom lip was fuller and redder than usual, like he had been biting it. It occured to Albus then that if he moved a little closer, Scorpius' lips might brush against his own. The forbidden desire gave him a thrill of fright and excitement that traversed his whole body. Nervous anticipation and panic rose in him; he wanted to kiss him so badly, but the consequences of doing so could be catastrophic. God, he smelled so good…

Suddenly and without warning, Scorpius' lips pressed against his own; a closed mouth, tentative brush of lips, testing the waters. Albus froze. He wasn't kissing Scorpius. Scorpius was kissing him. Well, that was unexpected.

So shocked by the suddenness of what Scorpius had done, Albus remained frozen to the spot, his lips stiff and unmoving against Scorpius' soft ones. After a moment Scorpius broke away and lowered his gaze, his pale cheeks flushing pink with shame.

"Shit, sorry," he muttered, thinking he had overstepped the mark. He made to move away but Albus, suddenly regaining his faculties reached up and pressed a soft kiss of his own to the corner of Scorpius' mouth. Scorpius gasped, his lips trembling under Albus'. They looked at each other for a moment, Scorpius' eyes wide with surprise, both startled at their own daring. Albus held his breath. The moment sat on a knife-edge; everything depended on what Scorpius would do next.

Slowly, Scorpius' eyes slid shut and he pressed their mouths more firmly together, shaky fingers running through the wild, black hair at the nape of Albus' neck, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. Albus could hardly breath. Could barely think. He had imagined what this would feel like, but nothing compared to how it really felt. It felt like fireworks were exploding in his head, shock and lust coursing through his body in great waves. When he felt Scorpius' tongue brush against his own he couldn't help the little whimper that escaped his throat. This seemed to encourage Scorpius and his hands began to wander down Albus' back and grasp his arse through his tight jeans. Merlin, that felt really good.

Overwhelmed with arousal and the thrill of finally kissing Scorpius, Albus felt the last ebb of restraint and nervousness in him melt away. He kissed him back harder, deeper, craving more. He needed to feel more of Scorpius pressed against him. Lying back on the couch he pulled Scorpius down on top of him, opening his legs so Scorpius could press closer to him.

Scorpius pushed Albus into the couch and ground their hips together, eliciting a sharp gasp from both of them as they felt their erections brush against one another. Albus grabbed Scorpius' arse and thrust his hips upwards, rubbing their lengths together in a delicious friction. Scorpius' kisses, which had started out tender and nervous, became increasingly desperate. They kissed each other messily, hungrily, like they were both starving for it. Albus' hands eagerly explored every part of Scorpius he could reach, kneading his arse, stroking his back, caressing his silky hair - he wanted to commit every beautiful, perfect curve and angle of this man to memory, unsure when they would - if they would ever - do this again.

Albus still couldn't quite believe this was really happening. He had kissed Scorpius and he hadn't run away. He hadn't thrown him out of the flat. If anything, he seemed to be into this as much as Albus. He fleetingly wondered, dared to think that Scorpius might even feel the same way after all, but that thought and all other tangible thoughts were immediately extinguished when Scorpius' hand slipped between his legs and began rubbing the outline of his erection through his jeans. He could worry about what it all meant later.

As they continued to kiss, Scorpius got his hands on Albus' fly and fumbled with the belt, clumsily unbuckling and unzipping him so he could slip his hand inside Albus' boxers. As Scorpius' cool fingers brushed against his cock, Albus' breath hitched and his hips jerked forward involuntarily at the sensation. Albus had never kissed a boy before - he'd never even thought about kissing another boy before - now Scorpius was about to have his stiff cock in his hand. The mere thought made his balls ache and he arched his hips up off of the couch to make it easier for Scorpius to push his jeans and boxers down past his thighs. His erection sprang free, resting against his flat stomach flushed red and achingly hard.

Scorpius paused to look down at Albus with a heated expression and he became very aware of how he must look right now - his already-wild hair sticking out in all directions, his wet mouth parted and panting. He gazed up at Scorpius with a mixture of nerves and lust.

"You still want me to do this?" asked Scorpius, his voice low and rough. Of course, he had to be sure that Albus wanted this just as much as he did. Once they did this, there was no turning back; their relationship would never be the same again.

Albus pulled Scorpius down by the nape of his neck and looked him in the eye, his expression serious. He'd never wanted anything more in his life.

"I want you," he declared and crushed their lips together. Scorpius kissed him back with equal enthusiasm, the last of his nervousness seemingly abated. He wrapped his cool fingers around the base of Albus' cock and gave it a light squeeze. Albus groaned into their kiss, overwhelmed by the sharp spark of pleasure that shot through his whole body. Scorpius moved his hand experimentally up and down Albus' shaft, paying attention to Albus' whimpers of pleasure until he found a rhythm that had Albus gasping and groaning louder and louder. Albus felt his orgasm approaching, too soon for his liking.

"Wait," he gasped. "Stop."

Scorpius' hand froze and he gave Albus a frightened look. Albus placed his hand on Scorpius' belt buckle to assure him.

"I want to do you, too," he breathed. The tension in Scorpius' shoulders visibly eased and he nodded. He shifted to unbuckle his belt but Albus stopped him, "Let me do it."

Albus was determined to make this last as long as possible, savour every moment he had with Scorpius. He stripped Scorpius of his jeans and boxers, tossing them carelessly onto the floor before lying back down, turning on his side so that they were facing each other. Taking Scorpius' cock into his own hand he stroked it up and down the same way he liked to do it to himself, swiping the head with his thumb. He was rewarded with a sharp gasp from Scorpius, so he did it again and again, desperate to elicit as many delectable little moans of pleasure from him as possible.

Scorpius' prick throbbed wet and slick in Albus' hand as he jerked him faster. The sounds they were making in the otherwise silent room were obscene and it only made Albus harder. Soon their breathing became laboured, their hips rocking back and forth against each other's tight fists. They were quickly tumbling the point of no return when suddenly the front door to the flat creaked open.

Albus and Scorpius froze. Pippa and Rose's voices wandered through the corridor into the living room and the boys looked at each other with horror. Footsteps grew louder as they approached; any moment now the girls were going to find Albus and Scorpius half dressed and holding each other's dicks. They'd never live it down.

"Hold tight," hissed Scorpius pulling Albus into a bear hug and Disapparating them into his bedroom. They Apparated a meter above the bed and immediately fell back to earth. The springy mattress broke their fall and Albus couldn't help but yelp loudly as they fell onto the bed and bounced back into the air again. They suppressed their laughter by kissing again, tenderly at first but soon it became messier, like before.

Scorpius' hand trailed down Albus' bare thigh and between his legs, taking his still-hard cock in his hand. Albus shifted onto his side and did the same and they began wanking each other to a steady rhythm. Albus broke their kiss and drew back until he could see Scorpius' face, wanting to look into his eyes as he came. Scorpius gazed up at him, his expression full of desire but something softer lingered behind his silver-grey eyes. Seeing Scorpius like this - sweating, rosy-cheeked, panting for breath - all because of him, pushed Albus closer to climax. He felt his balls clench and a dizzying surge of pleasure spread through him, he was so close...

Suddenly Scorpius let out a shuddering breath and his back arched off of the bed as he came. The mere sight of Scorpius coming pushed Albus over the edge and he moaned, low and deep as his orgasm ripped through him, leaving them both gasping and shaking. Albus had never came so hard in his life, and it was as shocking as it was satisfying.

Scorpius had his eyes clenched shut, still breathing hard. Christ, he looks amazing, thought Albus. It was the first tangible thought he'd been able to form since Scorpius had kissed him. Albus placed a wet, open-mouthed kiss into the crook of Scorpius' neck, trying to convey in a kiss everything he was feeling in that moment - arousal, affection, reassurance. Scorpius' hand gently stroked Albus' hair and he turned to kiss him again. It was slow and languid this time, as though he were on the brink of sleep. Perhaps he was; Albus was struggling to keep his eyes open now he was so exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

They carefully let go of each other's softening cocks and Scorpius wordlessly spelled away the come that coated their hands and thighs. They lay side by side for a few moments, half-dressed, exhausted and sated. The pounding beat of Albus' heart slowly settling as their breathing evened out.

"So...we're doing this now too," croaked Albus. Scorpius huffed out a tired laugh."Seems like it, yeah," he replied. He lowered his gaze and said, "I haven't done this with anyone else before. Have you…?"

Albus shook his head, quietly pleased that they were stumbling blindly through this together, "You know I haven't."

Scorpius smiled sheepishly, "You're my first...anything with another person."

"Really?" asked Albus keenly.

"Really," said Scorpius earnestly. He looked at Albus with a serious expression, "Do you...are we doing this again?"

Albus' cock twitched at the mere thought of doing it again. There was nothing he wanted more.

"Only if you want to…" he replied cautiously. Scorpius gave him a shy smile.

"I do," he admitted. Albus felt the familiar fluttering feeling in his chest blossom again.

"Yeah, me too," he replied breathlessly. He slipped his hand into Scorpius' and they laced their fingers together. He shuffled closer to Scorpius and rested his head on his chest. Closing his eyes he sighed contentedly as Scorpius began to lazily play with his hair. Merlin, that felt good.

"What happened to George?" asked Scorpius suddenly.

"Hmm?" asked Albus sleepily.

"George Bailey," he continued. "We missed the end of the film. Was he alright?"

"He was fine," Albus assured him. "He realised that everything he ever needed in life was right in front of him the whole time."

"Huh," said Scorpius quietly. "I know how he feels."

Yeah, me too, thought Albus. Gradually he dozed off, listening to the steady thud of Scorpius' heart vibrating through his ribcage. For the first time in days, Albus had a restful night's sleep. For the first time in his life, he felt truly contented. He only hoped that Scorpius still felt the same way in the morning.


	8. The Morning After

When Albus woke the next morning he kept his eyes closed, listening closely. He could tell by the way Scorpius was breathing that he wasn't asleep either. The events of the night before raced through his mind; it had been the best night of Albus' life, but the same doubts persisted - that this was only a one-time thing between them. Or worse still, that when he turned around he would look into Scorpius' eyes and see regret at what they had done. Last night they'd crossed a line that would irrevocably change their friendship forever. Whether it was for better or worse...well, there was only one way to find out. Savouring the final few moments of blissful ignorance, Albus slowly turned around to face his best friend.

Scorpius had his eyes closed, still pretending to be asleep. Albus marvelled at the way his white-blonde hair fell all over his pale face, his pink lips still swollen from the night before; he really was a beauty to behold. He wondered how it had taken him so long to realise the depth of his feelings for this man; he felt like scales had finally fallen from his eyes and he was seeing him clearly for the first time. He loved Scorpius - was in love with him - and he had been for longer than he even realised.

Swallowing hard he carefully reached out to brush the stray hairs from Scorpius' face. It was a gentle, tentative movement, his hand shaking a little as he did so. Slowly, Scorpius opened his eyes. He gave Albus a warm smile.

"Morning," he whispered.

"Morning," Albus greeted him, still feeling a little uncertain about where they stood. "Are you hungry?"

Scorpius nodded.

"I'll go make us breakfast then," he replied. He paused for a moment, the tips of his fingers grazing Scorpius' cheek then brushing his bottom lip. Scorpius kissed Albus' fingers, something dark and heated flickering behind his eyes. A surge of arousal rose up in Albus then and any uncertainties he had about Scorpius' feelings for him - that last night was a passing curiosity, a one-off that he needed to get out of his system - vanished. Lacing his fingers through Scorpius' hair, he leaned forward and kissed him. Scorpius sighed contentedly and slipped his tongue into Albus' mouth, deepening the kiss. Albus' heart soared; Scorpius didn't regret the night before - he still wanted him.

He gripped Scorpius' slim hips and pulled him closer, brushing their erections together. Albus let out a shuddering breath and buried his face into Scorpius' neck, rolling his hips back and forth, rubbing their slick lengths together to create a delicious friction.

"I thought you were going to make breakfast," laughed Scorpius breathlessly.

"I will," Albus promised. "In a minute. I just need…"

What he needed was Scorpius. Still naked from the night before, they pressed their bodies together. Last night their actions had been fast, operating on sheer animal instinct. This morning they took their time, exploring each other's bodies with their hands and lips. In that moment, the rest of the world seemed to melt away and all that mattered was where their bodies connected - tongues tracing hot flesh, hands and lips roaming everywhere within reach. But it wasn't enough. Albus wanted more, needed more…

Albus gently pushed Scorpius to lie on his back then proceeded to place worshipful kisses down his pale, lithe body. Swiping his tongue over each nipple Scorpius gasped, his back arching and rising off of the bed. Albus smiled to himself, pleased that he could elicit such a visceral reaction from him; it gave him the courage to do what he really wanted.

Shuffling down between Scorpius' legs he took a moment to look at the throbbing pink cock resting on his pale stomach, a pearl of pre-cum blossoming from the tip. Albus licked his lips hungrily; it was perfect in every way, and a little intimidating. He had thought about doing this enough, but actually doing it was both arousing and nerve-wracking. He glanced up at Scorpius, his eyes fixed intently on Albus', dark with lust and nervous anticipation. Albus reminded himself that Scorpius was new to all of this too, and that eased his nerves a little.

Gently resting his palms on Scorpius' thighs, he lean forward and pressed a hesitant kiss to the base of Scorpius' cock, his hot breath tickling the shaft. Scorpius held his breath, transfixed as he watched Albus place a wet, open-mouthed kiss to the tip. Scorpius whimpered and it twitched against Albus' lips. Feeling more confident, Albus licked a stripe up the full length of the shaft, eliciting another shaky moan from Scorpius before taking the head into his mouth.

"Fuck," hissed Scorpius, his body taut with tension and arousal under Albus' touch. Albus experimentally sucked the tip and felt a sharp jolt of pleasure shoot to his own cock as Scorpius gasped and thrust his hips upwards a little. He took Scorpius deeper into his mouth then pulled back, marvelling at the dreamy expression on Scorpius' face as his silver-grey eyes became glazed and his head fell back against the pillow. He clenched and unclenched his fists helplessly as Albus rhythmically slid his wet lips and tongue along his throbbing shaft, shuddering breaths and gasps filling the otherwise silent room. Scorpius flexed his hips and his cock twitched in Albus' mouth, so Albus sucked harder, bobbing his head back and forth as quickly as he could. He squeezed the base of his own cock, trying desperately not to come at the sight of Scorpius coming undone.

"Fuck, I'm close," gasped Scorpius, his hand slipping through the tangled mess of Albus' hair, pre-warning him that he was about to come. But Albus didn't move away. Instead he groaned happily and began sucking harder and a moment later, Scorpius came with a hoarse moan, his hand tightening in Albus' wild black hair. His thighs and his breath shook as his cock pulsed, filling Albus' mouth with come. Albus continued to suck and swallow until Scorpius softened in his mouth. When he sat back he took in the beautiful sight before him; Scorpius' naked pale skin flushed pink from exertion, still on high from the dizzying heights of his climax. Scorpius' eyes widened in surprise, "You swallowed it?"

Albus' cheeks burned.

"Should I not have done that?" he asked uncertainly.

"No," Scorpius assured him, pulling Albus forward to lie next to him. "I think it's hot."

Albus' smiled broadly and Scorpius kissed him, seemingly unperturbed at tasting his own saltiness on Albus' lips. After another long, languid kiss, Scorpius broke away, his expression serious.

"We should probably talk about this," he said quietly.

"Yeah," Albus agreed, his stomach twisting with nerves. "Now or after breakfast?"

"Let's do it now," said Scorpius sitting up in bed and hugging a pillow to his chest. "I'd rather know where we stand. No point putting it off."

"Okay," said Albus slowly, sitting up next to Scorpius. Scorpius took a deep breath, trying to gather his courage and sighed.

"I'm just going to say this quickly before I completely lose my nerve," he began. "I don't know what you're expecting to come from this, if anything, but I don't want this to be a casual thing. I know I should have told you this before we did anything, but…" Scorpius covered his face in his hands and admitted. "I've been feeling this way for a while now. About you. Having feelings, I mean. I-"

Scorpius nervously stumbled over his words, "I have feelings for you Albus, and they're not feelings that one normally has about their best friend."

No shit, thought Albus trying to suppress a grin, thinking of his own feelings. But he remained silent and let Scorpius continue, "I know I should have told you how I felt long before now, but I was afraid of what you'd say. The more I tried to ignore my feelings, the worse they got. So, I left."

Albus frowned in confusion, "What do you mean, you left?"

"That's why I came to Edinburgh to study instead of going to London. I...I thought if I put enough distance between us, the feelings I had for you would go away. But they didn't," Scorpius' voice was barely above a whisper now. He peaked through his fingers to look at Albus and he admitted, "It just got worse. I couldn't stop thinking about you. That's why I invited you to come visit me over the holidays - to tell you how I really feel. To tell I realised that I...I love you. I mean- obviously I love you; you're my best friend. I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't love you. But not just as a best friend anymore. I think- I am...in love with you."

The words hung in the air for a moment as Albus absorbed the depth of Scorpius' heartfelt confession. Albus opened his mouth to speak but Scorpius kept rambling nervously, "But then last night happened, and I mean - wow - I wasn't expecting that," he laughed nervously. "I was shit scared waking up this morning thinking you might have done a runner in the middle of the night or changed your mind or regretted what had happened. I mean, I'm glad that you didn't, but now I'm wondering, what are we now?"

Albus stared, "You mean, like are we still best friends?"

"Yeah, are we still friends, or…" Scorpius' voice trailed and he waited nervously for Albus to reply.

"Something more?" finished Albus. Scorpius nodded. He reached out and pulled Scorpius' hands away from his face. Scorpius' face was a storm of emotion, a mixture of fear, expectation and determination. Albus' heart swelled; just when he didn't think he could love Scorpius anymore, here he was out of his comfort zone and putting his own heart on the line. It was a wonder he hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor.

"Scorpius, how long have you felt this way?" he asked.

"A while," he admitted shamefully.

"Since school?" he pressed on. Scorpius nodded. Albus sighed, "I have a confession to make."

Scorpius stiffened, "What is it?" he asked, a nervous note in his voice.

Albus gathered every ounce of courage he had; it was finally time to be honest with Scorpius, "What we did last night - and this morning, for that matter - I've wanted to do it for a while now, too."

Scorpius' eyes widened in surprise, "Y-you have?"

Albus nodded, "I've been trying to figure out how to tell you how I feel, but I kept putting it off because I was afraid of losing you. I couldn't figure out what to say, so I spoke to my dad about it-"

"You spoke to your dad about this?" Scorpius cut in looking shocked, then added. "Sorry for interrupting, I'm just surprised that you told him. I mean...what did you say?"

Albus took a deep breath and admitted, "That I'd fallen in love with you and I didn't know how to tell you."

Scorpius' eyes were so wide now Albus thought that he resembled a petrified owl.

"Are you really?" he whispered. Albus smiled and nodded. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"No!" Albus implored. "I really do. I love you, Scorp-"

Albus' words were cut short as Scorpius lunged forward then and crushed their lips together in a messy kiss, then broke away just as suddenly and asked, "So just to be clear - we're...more than friends now?"

"I think it was safe to say that after I put your dick in my mouth," laughed Albus. "But yes, we're more than friends now."

"Boyfriends?" whispered Scorpius excitedly. Albus felt a rush of excitement at the thought of calling Scorpius his boyfriend. A wonderful image of them played through his mind, of them walking down the street together, holding hands, kissing…that's what Albus really wanted. He grinned at Scorpius and nodded.

"Boyfriends," he declared. Suddenly the weight that he'd been carrying around with him for days finally lifted; he felt so light that he could have floated away. He took Scorpius' hand to steady himself and kissed him again, unable to stop himself from smiling. He loved Scorpius and Scorpius loved him, too. The mere thought made him feel giddy.

Scorpius broke the kiss again and asked curiously, "What did your dad say when you told him?"

Albus shrugged, "He was surprised, but he was cool with it."

He leaned forward, desperate to kiss him again but Scorpius leaned back and mused, "Should I tell my dad? I'm not sure what he'd say about it. Not that it matters, he can't dictate to me who I love. Not that he would, of course; he's surprisingly liberal on matters of of the heart."

"Scorpius," Albus stroked Scorpius' jaw to get his attention and he fell silent, although his expression was still a mixture of nerves and excitement. Albus brushed his lips against Scorpius and whispered, "Let's worry about your dad later."

"Oh," said Scorpius quietly, slowly closing his eyes. "Okay…"

They kissed again, holding nothing back this time. Albus let Scorpius push him back onto the bed, surrendering himself to the feelings he'd tried to keep locked up for so long. Why had he ever tried to keep himself from feeling this way? Well, he wasn't going to hold back this time, not any more. From now on, he was going to love without limits.


	9. Tea and Sympathy

Hunger eventually forced Albus and Scorpius to emerge from the seclusion of their bedroom. Pippa was sitting cross-legged in the far corner of the livingroom, engrossed in hanging delicate crystal decorations on a large Christmas tree that hadn't been there the night before. Rose stood in the centre of the room, using her wand to suspend tinsel on the ceiling and around the window frame. Both girls turned when they heard the boys enter, hand in hand.

"Morning, boys," Pippa greeted them brightly. "Have a good night?"

"Uh, yeah, you could say that," laughed Scorpius, squeezing Albus' hand. Albus blushed and gave him a shy smile. Pippa's grin broadened until she resembled a Cheshire cat.

"I bet," she replied silkily.

"We're about to make breakfast," said Scorpius loudly over Pippa's sly comment. "Are you guys wanting anything to eat?"

"It's lunchtime," Rose pointed out. "But no thank you, I've already eaten."

"Same," said Pippa turning back to continue decorating the tree. "There's a breakfast pack in the fridge."

"Cool," replied Scorpius brightly and bounced out of the kitchen, Albus turned to follow.

"Hey, Albus," called Pippa, inclining her head. "C'mere."

Albus paused and turned back to face the girls.

"Yeah?" he asked cautiously.

"I take that your little chat last night went well?" she asked, beaming. Albus grinned.

"Yeah, it did," he confirmed. Well, they didn't need to know how little chatting was involved. Pippa nodded approvingly.

"We're really happy for you both," she said sincerely. "So, does this mean we'll be seeing you around here more often? After the holidays, I mean."

"Yeah, probably," he agreed.

 _Well, not as often as I would like_ , he realised. This was after all, only a holiday. The thought of leaving Scorpius and returning the the misery and monotony of London-life punctured the feelings of elation that he had been carrying with him since last night.

"If you don't want to go, don't go," Pippa suggested. "I'm sure Scorpius will be happier with that arrangement."

Albus sighed and rolled his eyes, "Pippa, I've already asked you not to do that."

"Sorry," she grimaced. "It really is a force of habit. But in all seriousness, if you're not happy with something in your life, make a change. Talk to Scorpius."

"What about my course?" he thought aloud. Pippa shrugged.

"You've already said it yourself, you're not even into Transfiguration that much," she pointed out. "What's the point of doing something you're not passionate about, even if you are good at it?"

"I'm not sure if I actually told you that or if you've been dipping into my head again," said Albus. "But you're right. I only started the course because I was expected to do something; I just didn't know what else to do with myself."

"Even if you weren't considering moving up here to be with Scorpius, I'd still tell you to drop the course," said Pippa seriously. "Think about what you're really passionate about, Albus. If you do a job you love, you'll never work a day in your life."

"If you're going to move in here, you'll need to pay your way like the rest of us," Rose warned. "No free lodging here."

Albus rolled his eyes, "Nothing's set in stone Rose, we're just talking out ideas. You really think Scorpius would want that?"

"I'm a Legilimens, Albus," replied Pippa flatly. "I'm one hundred percent certain he's already thought of it himself."

The little bubble of happiness in Albus' chest swelled again at these words. Okay, perhaps being friends with a Legilimens had its benefits. Pippa blushed.

"Oh Albus, I'm so glad you think of us as friends!" she crooned. He groaned and turned to leave. Sometimes being friends with a Legilimens was useful. Most of the time it was annoying.

"Oh, Albus! While I remember…" Pippa tossed a pair of jeans and boxers at Albus' head. "You left these in here last night. Don't want the guests stumbling across them during the party, do we?"

Albus blushed furiously and muttered, "Right. Thanks."

Rose sniggered as Albus stalked out of the room, tossing the offending items into Scorpius' bedroom before heading into the kitchen. Scorpius was stooped over the frying pan humming happily to himself, the irresistible aroma of smoky bacon filling Albus' nostrils. Yes, he could definitely wake up to this every day. He stepped up behind Scorpius and slithered his hands around his waist, holding him close. Resting his chin on Scorpius' shoulder he kissed his neck and felt goosebumps erupt across his flesh.

"That smells delicious," he murmured, brushing his lips against Scorpius' skin, giving his lithe hips a slight squeeze. Scorpius chuckled.

"If you distract me too much I'll end up burning your breakfast," he warned.

"I don't care," said Albus honestly. "I'd rather have you for breakfast."

Scorpius turned to face Albus, still armed with his spatula.

"Alright, you were warned," he replied huskily before wrapping his arms around Albus' neck and kissing him. Albus closed his eyes and relinquished himself to the kiss, to Scorpius. Slipping his tongue into Scorpius' mouth he felt him whimper, tracing his own tongue against Albus'. Yes, Albus could get used to doing this every day, too. He deftly slid his hand down the front of Scorpius' shorts and grasped his cock, already half-hard again. He heard the spatula clatter to the floor and Scorpius groaned, thrusting his hips forward into Albus' hand. His head was swimming with arousal; he loved the feel of Scorpius' heated flesh against his fingertips as he slipped his free hand up his t-shirt and across his flat abdomen. He loved his soft lips and hot breath pressing worshipful kisses to his lips, across his face into the crook of his neck. He loved the smell of his hair, musky, sweet, burning…

 _Burning?_ he thought, confused.

Scorpius broke the kiss and hissed, "Shit!"

Black smoke was billowing from the frying pan, the bacon charred black and stuck to the bottom of the pan. Scorpius quickly lifted the pan off of the hob and dumped it into the sink, coughing and waving his hand helplessly as the putrid smoke filled the small kitchen.

"Is something burning?" called Rose from the living room.

Scorpius pulled out his wand, pointed it at the frying pan and whispered, " _Scourgify."_

Although the smoke lingered, the frying pan was now spotless. Scorpius pocketed his wand again and cried back, "No!" He looked sheepishly at Albus, "Fancy going out for breakfast instead?"

* * *

They quickly got dressed and headed out into the town centre for their breakfast, both boys agreeing that it was safer than have them try to cook again. Scorpius took Albus to his favourite cafe, The Elephant House, finding a seat by the window that had a spectacular view of the castle. Thankfully they weren't waiting long for their breakfast - their morning escapades had left them both ravenous.

"It's quite a famous cafe," said Scorpius through a mouthful of sausage and egg. "Loads of famous authors come to write here. I saw Ian Rankin in here once."

"Cool, did you ask for his autograph?" asked Albus interestedly, taking a swig of his tea. Scorpius shook his head.

"No, he was writing at the time," Scorpius explained. "I didn't want to interrupt him."

"I've always been more of a reader than a writer," admitted Albus.

"Same," agreed Scorpius. His smile fell and his expression became serious, "So, I've been thinking about what I'm going to say to my dad…"

Albus paused mid-bite and placed his fork on to his plate, "Oh right. Are you worried about what he's going to say?"

"Whether or not I'm worried is irrelevant," he shrugged. "I'll be telling him regardless."

"Well that sounds ominous," muttered Albus. Scorpius frowned.

"Look, I don't know what to tell you; I don't have a clue how he's going to take this. Malfoy's aren't famed for talking out their feelings, you know," he grumbled.

"You tell me your feelings all the time," Albus pointed out.

"That's different," he argued. "You're different. I mean...he's my dad. I love him and his opinion matters to me. His opinion on this matters to me, too," Scorpius lowered his gaze. "I don't want him to be disappointed in me."

Albus didn't know what to say to that, but then there was nothing he could say because he had feared the same thing. He hadn't been able to predict his own father's reaction to his coming out, let alone what Mr. Malfoy would think. Scorpius had always spoken very highly of him, but in truth Albus knew very little of the man - and what he did know from his father's stories made him more apprehensive about what Scorpius was about to do.

"When are you going to tell him?" he asked.

"Sooner rather than later," sighed Scorpius. "I'll be seeing him late on Christmas Eve, so I'll probably tell him then."

"You want me to come with you?" Albus offered. Scorpius shook his head.

"No, I'll be fine," he assured him. "Besides, I want to head out before meeting him to get your Christmas present."

Albus nodded, glad that Scorpius had reminded him that he needed to go Christmas shopping, too. Scorpius was notoriously difficult to buy gifts for - what do you buy a boy who's wanted for nothing his whole life? Albus had always tried to think outside the box, favouring sentimentality of the gift over its monetary value. This year would be particularly difficult; he'd have to get something extra special…

"What about you?" asked Scorpius, interrupting Albus' train of thought. "You've still got to talk to your mum."

"Well, I've been thinking about that…" he began slowly. "My dad asked me to pop round on Christmas day for a bit. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

Scorpius' eyes widened with surprise.

"Really?" he asked quietly, a nervous smile spreading across his face. Albus nodded.

"Only if you want to. No pressure if you'd rather not. If you'd rather wait…"

Scorpius laughed, "Wait for what? Let's do this. Together," Scorpius slipped his hand into Albus' and gave it a tight squeeze.

"Are you sure?" he asked uncertainly. "My brother and sister are going to be there, too. I don't know how they'll take it."

"Your dad's going to be there and he was fine with it," Scorpius pointed out. "Your mum will be fine, too. And if she's not, we'll steal the turkey and run away to my place and eat the whole damn thing ourselves."

Albus laughed and put his other hand on top of Scorpius', "If you're sure."

"Definitely. But let's worry about family stuff later, we've got a party to get ready for," he replied excitedly. "I've got so many people I want you to meet, you're going to love Calum, he's a Muggle plane fanatic like you…"

Albus suppressed a groan - he was definitely not the party-going type. He thought back to the one and only party his brother James had hosted in their small flat in London; Albus had tried in vain to study for a test he had early the next morning, but had had to contend with loud music thumping through his bedroom wall, drunken students staggering into his room every so often and his angry neighbour from the floor below complaining about the noise. Albus had tried to explain he was as pissed off about the noise as she was, but Mrs. Spinelli had been unsympathetic to his plight, threatening him with the police if they didn't quieten down.

When he had awoken early the next morning to find his flat in a state of destruction, he was furious; drunk revellers passed out in the living room, empty beer cans and takeaway containers occupied every free surface and spilled out across the floor that was now sticky to walk across. Worse still was discovering someone had been sick in the kitchen sink. Worst of all was that the bathroom had been flooded. Someone even had the audacity to steal their toilet seat. Ignoring James' protests and accusations that he was the proponent of a fascist state (whatever the hell that meant), Albus had put his foot down and had barred any and all future parties while they lived under the same roof. It was his first and only experience of a party in a student flat, and he had hated every minute of it.

But Scorpius was chatting away excitedly about all the different people that would be there, he didn't have the heart to disappoint him and say he didn't want to go. He was willing to put himself out of his comfort zone for Scorpius. It was only a party, after all. It might even be fun.

Albus wasn't going to hold his breath.


	10. The Problem with Polyjuice

"It can't be done."

"She's only bluffing."

"Two Galleons says she fluffs it after the third card."

Pippa sat in living room, a confident smile teasing her lips as a large group of party-goers watched her with interest. One of her friends sat across from her, shuffling a deck of cards.

"Ready?" he asked. Pippa put on her blindfold and nodded. Her friend raised the first card and showed it to the expectant onlookers.

"Queen of hearts," she declared immediately. An impressed murmur rippled through the crowd. Her friend raised another card.

"Two of clubs," she said almost as soon as he had raised it. "Seven of spades. Jack of diamonds. Two of diamonds…"

Albus watched with increasing amusement as Pippa (to the surprise of everyone there except him) correctly identified each card. There was a smattering of applause and an exchange of gold amongst the revellers. As the crowd dispersed Pippa jumped to her feet, gave a dramatic bow and winked at Albus.

"I suppose most people here don't know about your unfair advantage?" he asked quietly. Pippa shrugged.

"What they don't know can't hurt them," she smirked. "It's a neat party trick; keeps them entertained and it can be a nice little money-earner, too."

"You would definitely have been in Slytherin," he laughed. Pippa gave him an appraising smile.

"Thanks very much!" she beamed. The party so far had been better than Albus had expected. He had enjoyed meeting all of Scorpius' friends and never tired of being introduced as 'my boyfriend, Albus', the bubble of happiness swelling inside of him every time Scorpius said those words. It made him smile just thinking about it. Although he enjoyed meeting new people, he would much rather have had Scorpius all to himself. Being limited to holding his hand and drawing each other longing looks was only making Albus want him more, wishing with every passing minute that the party would end so he could finally take his boyfriend to bed.

"Albus! I'd like you to meet someone," said Scorpius excitedly, pushing through a group of people to reach him.

"Someone else?" he teased. Scorpius smiled and rolled his eyes.

"This one's important," he implored, grabbing Albus' hand and dragging him across the living room and into the kitchen. "You'll _want_ to talk to this guy."

"Who is it?" he asked curiously.

"A friend from university," Scorpius explained. He stopped in front of a tall, dark-haired man who had his back to him, leaning against the fridge deep in conversation with a short, blonde girl. Scorpius tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Calum, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Albus."

The man turned to face them and Albus felt his stomach twist unpleasantly. Calum, it transpired, was the same tall, dark, handsome git that had been chatting up Scorpius at the bar a couple days previously. Calum smiled broadly at Albus, flashing a Hollywood-smile. Albus glowered at him.

"Boyfriend now, eh?" he asked, holding out his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you Al, Scorp's talked a lot about you."

"It's Albus," he corrected his stiffly taking Calum's hand and squeezing it a little more firmly than necessary. "And Scorpius has never mentioned you before."

Calum's smile faltered only a moment before he laughed and slapped Albus on the back, "Scorp said you were a funny guy."

"I wasn't joking-" he began but Scorpius nudged him in the ribs and gave him a sharp look.

He cleared his throat and explained, "Calum here is studying Aeronautical Engineering at Heriot Watt. I thought it'd be good for you to talk since you're both interested in Muggle transport."

Albus frowned at Calum, "You're a wizard?"

"Yup," Calum confirmed taking a sip from his beer bottle.

"And you study Muggle transport?" he asked (grudgingly) with interest.

"That I do," he grinned.

"When I bumped into Calum at the bar the other day, I asked him to come to the party so he could talk to you about his course, see if it's something that might interest you more than Transfiguration," Scorpius interjected. "I know you were thinking about changing up courses, so I thought you two should meet."

"Oh, right," Albus replied weakly, an embarrassing heat rising in the back of his neck at how rude he had just been. "Cool, uh...so Calum, what sort of job prospects do you have at the end of your degree?"

"Well, it's a rapidly growing industry, particularly with the development of aerial drones…" he began, looking unperturbed at how abrasive their introduction had been.

Albus quickly forgot the minor indiscretion of Calum flirting with Scorpius at the bar (admittedly, they hadn't actually gotten together at that point, so Albus decided to let it slide) and soon the two men were deep in discussion about Calum's course, future job prospects and their lifelong passion for Muggle transport. As the night wore on, Albus felt with growing surety that despite his natural gift for Transfiguration, Muggle aviation was his true calling in life. Eventually the blonde girl that Calum had been talking to earlier wandered back over and Albus waved them off wishing them both an enjoyable evening, feeling much more hopeful about his own future.

He scanned the living room for Scorpius but there was no sign of him. Seeing Pippa in the far corner he called out to her over the loud music.

"Pippa!" he shouted. She paused talking to her friend and turned towards Albus.

 _Where's Scorpius?_ he thought.

Pippa pointed to the window and mouthed 'outside', motioning with her hand and mouth that he had gone out for a cigarette. Giving her the thumbs up, Albus gladly left the chaos of the party and hurried downstairs to see Scorpius and tell him how his little chat with the tall, handsome git had gone. Stepping outside the flat he gasped as the bitingly cold night air hit him, his thin, cotton shirt providing little protection against the chill. Hugging himself tightly he looked left and right and found Scorpius standing at the corner of the tenement flat, staring up at the cloudless night sky. As he hurried over Scorpius looked down at him and smiled, blowing great plumes of smoke out of his nose and mouth.

"Hey," he said gently, giving Albus a once-over. "You're going to catch a chill out here dressed like that."

"I know," he laughed, his teeth chattering. "Hurry up and finish your ciggy and we can go back inside, then."

Scorpius nodded and dropped the butt, crushing it under his heel, "How'd your chat with Calum go?"

"G-good," he shivered. "Thanks for bringing him to to party to talk to me. He said a few things that I needed to hear; I think you're right about changing up my course."

"Good," Scorpius nodded approvingly as they both walked back to the flat. "I know you've been worried about going back to uni, I just thought talking to him would help. Although, I got the impression you didn't like him that much."

"Well…" Albus began. He explained to Scorpius about seeing Calum flirting with Scorpius at the bar a few days before and what Pippa had said. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Okay, even if Calum _does_ have a thing for me, did she happen to tell you that I wasn't the least bit interested?" he asked.

"Not in so many words," admitted Albus, opening the front door to the flat to be met with loud music and voices within. Scorpius stepped into the flat and inclined his head to Albus, asking him to follow him to their bedroom.

As they stepped inside the room, Albus slammed the door shut behind him and Scorpius immediately pressed him against the door, crushing their lips together in a messy kiss. Pulling away Scorpius whispered, "The only person I'm interested in is right here. You're the only one I want, Albus."

Scorpius carefully slipped his knee between Albus' legs, brushing his thigh against the outline of Albus' cock. Albus groaned as the friction sent a sharp shot of pleasure up his body.

"Do you want me?" Scorpius teased, ghosting his lips against Albus'.

"Fuck yes," he replied hoarsely and kissed Scorpius hard. He had struggled all night to keep his hands to himself, desperate to feel Scorpius pressed up against him. Watching him from afar, only being allowed to look and not touch, had driven him to distraction. It seemed like Scorpius had felt the same way. Scorpius' hand slipped under Albus' shirt and he shivered. Scorpius paused.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, pressing a kiss into the crook of Albus' neck.

"I'm great," he assured him. "It's just that your hands are cold."

Scorpius relaxed and gave a nervous laugh, "Oh, okay…"

"Don't stop," Albus breathed, pressing their lips together again. Scorpius obeyed, letting the palms of his hands slide up the front of Albus' shirt, tracing the contours of his abdomen up to his chest. Albus broke the kiss to pull his shirt off, desperate to increase the contact between them. Scorpius stripped out of his t-shirt in one sinuous movement, his slender torso flexing as he pulled it over his head and tossed it aside. Before Albus could really appreciate the sight of his boyfriend, Scorpius' lips were on his again. Just as Albus reached for Scorpius' belt buckle, there was a loud knock at the door.

"Ignore it," murmured Scorpius, teasing the zip of Albus' jeans down before slipping his hand inside. Albus gasped as his cool fingers grazed against the hot flesh of his shaft, thrusting his hips forward to increase the contact. There was another loud knock at the door. Scorpius paused and groaned in frustration.

"I'm busy!" he shouted.

"Albus, you need to come out here right now," came Pippa's voice through the door. Albus rolled his eyes and popped his head out of the bedroom door, looking exacerbated.

"We're kind of in the middle of something here," he hissed. "This better be a life or death situation-"

"I've got no time to argue," she cut in, looking serious. "Get dressed and meet me in Rose's bedroom. You better bring Scorp, too. We might need his Potions kit."

Without further explanation she hurried back down the corridor towards Rose's room, Albus staring after her with mounting confusion and concern. Closing the bedroom door closed again he picked up his shirt and slipped it back on.

"What's going on?" asked Scorpius, buttoning his jeans back up.

"Dunno," he replied gravely. "Pippa looked worried, though. Maybe someone's drank too much or something."

"Maybe," said Scorpius uncertainly, grabbing his leather potions bag and hurrying out of the bedroom, Albus following close behind. Ignoring the party that was in full swing all around them, they slipped passed a couple revellers who were lingering in the corridor and knocked on Rose's bedroom door.

"It's us," Scorpius called. The door opened and Pippa ushered them inside, quickly closing it behind them. Rose stood by the bed, her arms crossed and fuming. Pippa stood beside her, looking confused and concerned. Scorpius stepped further into the room then stopped dead in his tracks.

"Shit," he breathed. Albus followed his line of sight and gasped. On the bed sat two people, a boy and a girl, of the most bizarre appearance Albus had ever seen, and considering he was a wizard and Harry Potter's son to boot, that was really saying something. The girl had the appearance of two halves of two completely different people merged together - one half of her head had curly, black hair and alabaster skin, the other half auburn and freckled. Albus gaped and leaned closer to her. Surely it couldn't be...

"Lily?" he asked in quiet disbelief. His sister looked up at him with her brown and blue eyes and gave a sheepish smile.

"Hi," she replied nervously. His eyes fell on the boy next to him, who was in a worse state than his sister and he realised to his shock but not his surprise, his younger cousin.

"Hugo," he groaned. "What the hell happened?"

"Funny story…" she laughed weakly. Hugo wretched and covered his mouth, his brown and violet eyes streaming. His face looked like a bizarre patchwork of ochre and pink skin, one half of his hair its usual black buzzcut, the other a shocking shade of turquoise.

"I don't feel so good…" he muttered thickly.

"He does look awful peaky," noted Pippa. "I'll go get a basin in case he's sick."

Pippa hurried out of the room. Rose put her hands on her hips and glowered at the two teenagers. Albus couldn't suppress a smirk at how much like her mother she looked in that moment.

"Explain yourself," she demanded. Lily shrugged.

"Now don't get mad…" she began.

"Too late for that!" snapped Rose. Lily and Hugo flinched at the sharp tone of Rose's voice.

"Tell us what happened," Albus asked more gently. Lily glanced at her brother then lowered her gaze.

"Well, we thought it'd be fun to go out clubbing in London. But you know what mum's like - and Aunt Hermione would never agree to it, either - so, we borrowed some Polyjuice potion from the school store cupboards before Christmas-"

"Stole, you mean," Rose corrected her. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Semantics. Anyway, I borrowed some hair-"

"Stole," interjected Rose again fiercely.

"Fine, I _stole_ some hair from Molly," snapped Lily impatiently. "Hugo took some from Teddy."

"Teddy Lupin?" Scorpius asked, frowning.

"Yeah," Lily nodded. "Why, is that a bad thing?"

Scorpius rubbed his face agitatedly, "It might complicate matters somewhat. You're not supposed to use metamorphmagi hair in Polyjuice, its effects can be unpredictable."

Hugo scrunched his face in pain and groaned. A moment later the turquoise portion of his hair turned neon pink. Lily gently rubbed his back, looking pleadingly at her brother, "Can you fix this? Hugo looks really sick."

"Tell us the rest of your story first before we decide what to do next," Scorpius implored, kneeling in front of Hugo to check his eyes and pulse. Pippa slipped back into the room and placed a basin on the bed beside Hugo.

"I told mum that I'd be staying at Hugo's tonight; Hugo said he'd be crashing at mine," Lily continued. "The club doesn't close til five, so we figured we'd just stay there all night then wait for the first train home in the morning."

Rose huffed and shook her head agitatedly, but said nothing. Lily's cheeks flushed pink and she said, "Everything seemed fine until we had a drink."

"An alcoholic drink?" asked Scorpius.

"Just the one," Lily replied desperately. "After that we noticed our appearance started to change back. We thought maybe the potion was beginning to wear off, so we took some more…"

"Merlin," muttered Rose, covering her face in her hands.

"But that just seemed to make it worse," Lily continued, tears streaming down her face. "Hugo started to feel really sick. We couldn't go home, I knew we'd get into trouble for going out clubbing-"

"Clubbing is the least of your worries!" Rose raged. "Stealing! Lying to our parents! Underage drinking! What the hell were you thinking?"

"We weren't thinking, obviously!" Lily cried, wiping back tears with the back of her hand. "We didn't know what else to do, so we Apparated here-"

"Illegal apparition as well!" shrilled Rose, her eyes bulging. "The Ministry will have your wands for this if they find out!"

"Exactly!" shouted Lily. "That's why we came here! We need your help. Please…"

Hugo snatched the basin and proceeded to be violently sick. Lily burst into tears. Pippa, Rose, Scorpius and Albus exchanged dark looks with one another.

"What can we do?" asked Albus. Rose sighed and shook her head.

"I don't think I'm equipped to deal with this," she admitted. "We'll need to take them to St. Mungo's."

"No!" cried Lily desperately. She looked up at her brother, her eyes wide with fear. "Please Albus, you need to help us. I don't want to lose my wand."

Albus looked towards Scorpius, "What do you think? You're our potions expert."

Scorpius hesitated a moment, then said tentatively, "I might be able to fix this. But there's no guarantee it'll work."

"Well, you can't make it any worse, can you?" asked Albus half-joking, half-inquiringly. Hugo hurled again and his sick slapped the bottom of the basin. Lily rubbed his back gingerly, her eyes puffy and red from crying. After a few moment's contemplation, a stony look of determination set on Scorpius' face.

"Pippa, we'll need to clear everyone out of the flat; party's over," he began sternly. "Rose, grab my cauldron from my room, fire up the the stove and set it to a temperature of one hundred and eighty degrees Celsius _exactly_. Albus, make sure no-one else comes in here while we get everyone else out of here."

"Got it," Albus nodded. As everyone set about completing their tasks, Albus stood sentry by the bedroom door making sure no-one else came in or out of the room. He shook his head at his sister and cousin in disbelief, "You two are getting as bad as James. Polyjucing to go clubbing? Christ, you're lucky you didn't grow a second head."

Lily glowered at him, "Don't pretend like you never broke the rules! I wasn't the one who jumped from the Hogwarts Express in my fourth year!"

"That was different!" he argued. "I was trying to save someone's life, not go clubbing and get drunk for the fun of it. Besides, anything I did do for fun that involved breaking the rules, I always made sure not to get caught."

Lily snorted, "That's why you're a Slytherin."

"Exactly," Albus agreed. "I'm always careful and considered in my actions. Isn't that why you came here in the first place? You're relying on me being discreet about this."

Lily crossed her arms and said nothing. The music from the party cut off and they could hear Pippa's muffled voice as she ushered disgruntled party-goers out of the flat. The only other sound that punctuated the silence of the room was Hugo occasionally retching into his basin and groaning. Lily wiped tears away from her eyes and avoided her brother's gaze. Albus sighed. Sitting next to her on the bed he put his arm around her.

"You're going to be fine," he assured her. Lily sniffed loudly.

"How do you know?" she mumbled.

"Because I trust Scorp," said Albus. "He knows what he's doing. If he can't fix it, no-one can."

This declaration did little to put his sister's mind at ease. If anything it made things worse as she wailed and buried her head into his shoulder, fresh tears streaming down her face. Hugo's stomach churned horribly and he groaned. Albus sighed and rubbed his sister's shoulder. He bloody hated house parties.

* * *

When the last of the guests had left and the coast was clear, Lily and Hugo were ushered into the kitchen. Albus pointed his sister and cousin towards the table.

"Sit," he instructed. "And don't touch anything."

"We're not babies, Albus," she retorted, slumping into a chair and crossing her arms. Albus snorted.

"Could have fooled me," he sneered. Lily glowered at him.

Scorpius was stooped over a cauldron at the stove, his blonde hair slicked back and face shining with perspiration. He furiously stirred the contents of the cauldron while Pippa stood at the kitchen counter chopping and crushing ingredients as per Scorpius' instructions.

"Pass me the stewed dittany," he asked without looking up from the cauldron. Pippa placed the slimy green plant into his outstretched hand and he sprinkled it on top of the potion. As the new ingredient began to mix through the mystery concoction, it turned from a shade of indigo blue to a murky green. He nodded approvingly and asked, "Albus, can you keep stirring this for me? Counter clockwise, keep the speed up."

Albus swapped places with Scorpius who opened his potions bag on the kitchen table and pulled out a small brown stone. He held it out to Hugo.

"This should hopefully stop the Polyjuice potion from continuing to react to the metamorphmagi hair," he explained. "Here, try and keep it down, I've only got the one."

"How come he gets it and I don't?" asked Lily irritably.

"Because his symptoms are worse than yours," Scorpius explained simply. Hugo struggled to swallow down the bezoar; he looked as though he was going to be sick again, but he managed to keep it down. After a few moments, the greenish-tinge on his skin lessened and his ever-changing hair slowed and then finally stopped, remaining light-brown in colour. Scorpius let out a sigh of relief and touched Albus' hip.

"I'll swap places with you again," he said gently, sidling passed him and unconsciously tracing his hand along the bottom of Albus' back. Lily watched this interaction closely, a deep frown set in her face. Her eyes shot towards Albus.

"Your shirt's inside out, Albus," she noted interestedly. "Did our uh...unexpected arrival interrupt something?"

Albus glanced at Scorpius who blushed furiously, which Lily noticed immediately. A sudden smile flashed across her lips but she quickly suppressed it. Albus glowered at her.

"Never you mind what I was up to," he grumbled. "You've got more important things to be concerning yourself with right now."

Lily smirked but remained silent. Hugo groaned and thumped his forehead off of the kitchen table.

"I feel like shit," he mumbled.

"Well, you've got nobody to blame but yourself, Hugo," Rose chided, entering the kitchen. She still looked angry at her brother, but she knelt by his side and gave him a tight hug whispering, "You're going to be okay. We'll take care of you, alright?"

Hugo nodded mutely, leaning into his sister. Rose looked up towards Scorpius, "How long before the antidote is ready?"

"Another couple of hours," he replied.

"Well, if there's nothing more we can do until then," said Pippa brightly. "Shall we go watch a film to help pass the time?"

Pippa, Rose, Lily and Hugo shuffled out of the kitchen and out of sight, leaving Albus and Scorpius alone.

"You can go watch the film if you want," Scorpius offered. "There's nothing else to be done here except making sure the potion doesn't overheat."

"I'd rather keep you company," said Albus, kissing him on the cheek. Scorpius grinned.

"As much as I'd like you to, you can't go distracting me like you did with breakfast this morning," he warned. "We don't want to make them worse."

"I promise I'll behave," Albus assured him, sitting at the kitchen table.

"We are not watching _Alien_ again, Pippa!" Rose cried from the living room.

"Come on, they've not seen it before," she complained. Scorpius and Albus sniggered, happy to leave the others to fight it out amongst themselves.

* * *

Two hours later, they reconvened back in the kitchen as Scorpius called them through declaring that the antidote was ready. As there was no guarantee that the potion would work, they all agreed that regardless of the consequences, Lily and Hugo would go to St. Mungo's if the antidote failed.

Scorpius filled two cups with a black liquid that resembled tar more than anything else, handing one to Lily and the other to Hugo. Lily screwed up her face at the contents of her cup.

"What is that?" she asked sounding disgusted.

"It's...a mixture of a few different things," he replied evasively. "Drink up, it needs to be consumed at the correct temperature."

Lily hesitated, but seeing as she had no other choice, she pinched her nose and began downing the thick potion, grimacing as she did so. Hugo followed suit, his eyes scrunched shut as he gulped down the mystery concoction.

"You need to drink all of it," Scorpius instructed. "Keep going…"

Lily and Hugo slammed their empty cups onto the kitchen table and waited. Everyone held their breaths. Nothing happened for a moment, then…

"Shit!" winced Lily, doubled over in pain. Hugo groaned and held his stomach.

"Fuck! Scorpius, what did you do?" cried Rose in a panic. The teenagers appeared to be in a great deal of pain.

"Just wait a minute!" he cried. "Watch..."

They watched with morbid fascination as the teenagers hair, skin and eyes began to change; the light brown hair on Hugo's head receded and darkened to match the other half of his head. Lily's black curls became auburn and when she opened her eyes, they were both brown again. As the teens transformed back into their normal state, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Scorpius grabbed two basins and thrust them into Hugo and Lily's hands.

"You're going to need this," he grimaced. Hugo looked up at him confused.

"What do you mean- argh!" Hugo's question was cut short as he and Lily proceeded to projectile vomit into the basins.

"Gross," muttered Pippa, scrunching up her nose in disgust.

"They need to expel the Polyjuice Potion from their bodies completely to be cured," Scorpius explained.

"Bloody hell," breathed Rose. "What the hell did you give them?"

"A potion of my own making," he said proudly. "I haven't actually made it before, but the theory was sound. Golpalott's Third Law states that the combined effects of multiple drugs simultaneously is often greater than the effects of those same drugs taken separately. So, I combined the typical compound ingredients you would normally find in antidotes to-"

Scorpius' explanation was drowned out as Lily retched again and another stream of sick hit the bottom of the basin. Scorpius cleared his throat and began packing up his potions bag.

"Never mind," he muttered. "I can explain it later…"

Scorpius was elated but exhausted from successfully administering his antidote and went to bed without cleaning up, closely followed by Pippa and Rose who promised to Apparate the teenagers home the next morning. Albus transfigured a couple of camp beds for Lily and Hugo in the living room. Hugo collapsed in a heap on top of his bed without even bothering to pull the covers over himself and quickly fell asleep. Lily on the other hand, was wide awake and keen to talk to her brother alone.

"So," she asked lightly, fluffing her pillow and slipping under the covers of the bed. "You and Scorpius, eh?"

Albus sighed and rubbed his tired face, "What about us?"

"Nothing," she shrugged. "Doesn't bother me. Do Mum and Dad know?"

Albus hesitated before admitting, "Dad does."

Lily raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Well, you better tell Mum before she finds out on her own. She'll be pissed if you're not the one to tell her."

"I know," he groaned. "I've just not had the chance to speak to her yet."

"Are you coming round on Christmas day?" she asked.

"Yeah, I was going to pop over for dinner," he confirmed. Lily smirked.

"Is Scorpius coming, too?" she asked, as mischievous glint in her eye.

"That's the plan, yeah," he nodded. Lily nodded approvingly.

"Good. I like Scorpius," she said brightly, pulling the quilt cover up under her chin. "It's just annoying though…"

"What is?" asked Albus curiously.

"That your boyfriend's hotter than mine," she pouted. She flicked her wand and the lights in the living room switched off. "'Night, Albus."

"Hold up," he spluttered. "W-what do you mean you've got a boyfriend? You're not old enough! Who-"

"Goodnight, Albus," she repeated more firmly. Albus groaned and left the living room. He was too tired to argue with her. When he slipped into bed, Scorpius was already fast asleep and snoring loudly. The light of a new day was already dawning, but it didn't take long for Albus to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. In the moments before sleep took him, he resolved to never - ever - attend or host another house party again.


	11. Pepper Imps

The days after the party were mercifully free from drama. Albus and Scorpius, having dedicated the first couple weeks of the holidays to exploring the city, now spent most of their time between the bedsheets. This suited Albus just fine; Edinburgh had a lot to offer, but nothing compared to the delights of the man beneath him now.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" he asked. Scorpius shook his head, absentmindedly playing with Albus' hair who had his head rested on his bare chest.

"I'll be okay," Scorpius assured him. "I'd rather tell Dad on my own, I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," said Albus. "I'll take full advantage of your absence to go shopping for your present this afternoon."

Scorpius sighed, "It's a shame. I'd much rather spend the day in bed with you."

"Same," agreed Albus, snuggling closer to his boyfriend. It really was unfortunate that they couldn't spend the day in bed, but it was Christmas Eve and both boys had prior engagements that needed attending to. Grudgingly they got dressed and left the flat together before waving each other off to do their tasks for the day.

Albus already knew what to get Scorpius, so he hurried to the Christmas market to make his purchase before heading straight back to the flat and out of the cold, returning just in time to catch Rose and Pippa getting ready to leave.

"Where are you two off to?" he asked, pulling off his coat and dumping it on the couch.

"We're going to stay at Mum's for a couple of days," said Rose, pulling her carry bag over her shoulder. "She convinced me to take a couple days break from studying and to enjoy the festivities. So, you boys will have the run of the place 'til we get back. Try not to break anything."

Albus eyed the large bag on her shoulder, "Is there actually any clothes in that bag or is it mostly your coursework?"

Rose stalked passed him without answering. Albus smirked, her irritable silence confirmation enough that he was correct. Pippa pulled him into a tight hug.

"You boys behave yourselves," she teased. "And I know what you're thinking-"

"I'm sure you do," he sighed.

"Scorpius will love your present, it's very sweet," she continued. "Although I suggest since you've got free reign of the kitchen, it might be nice to cook something for his dinner tonight instead of ordering in pizza again, hmm?"

"What's wrong with pizza?" he asked frowning. He thought ordering a takeaway was a good idea. Pippa patted him on the arm.

"Nothing at all. But, you know…" she shrugged. "It's your first Christmas together as a couple. It might be nice to make something for him instead. Would be a nice surprise for him coming home."

"I suppose you're right," he relented. "Only, I'm not that great at cooking…"

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Pippa assured him slinging her bag over her shoulder and waving him off. "Have a great Christmas, Albus."

"Yeah, you too," he replied sincerely. "See you in a couple days."

As the front door slammed shut, Albus grinned. The whole flat to themselves for Christmas.

 _Result_ , he thought triumphantly.

Heeding Pippa's advice, Albus made a quick trip to the supermarket to get supplies for dinner. He carefully read over the instructions in the recipe book on to make the perfect Christmas meal - roast turkey with all the trimmings. Albus stared at the picture in the book with mounting uncertainty. Cooking required a similar talent to that needed in potions, and unfortunately potions had been Albus' worst subject at school. Still, if Muggles could manage it, it couldn't be that difficult...

After several hours, Albus stepped back and looked at his creation. Having overcooked the turkey, undercooked the vegetables and somehow managed to make gravy that was both too runny and lumpy, it was an unmitigated disaster. He grimaced and pulled out his wand, attempting to transfigure it enough to at least improve its appearance. He took a small forkful of the food to taste it and sighed - well, at least it tasted better than it looked. Marginally. Maybe he should just order in a pizza...

Just at that moment, the front door opened and slammed shut.

"Is that you, Scorp?" he called, following the footsteps into the living room. "I've tried to cook dinner, but we might be better just ordering in…" Albus paused when he saw Scorpius. He looked furious. "What's wrong?" asked Albus, stepping towards him. Scorpius tore off his scarf and tossed it across the room, his face screwed up into an ugly scowl.

"Everything," he choked, his voice cracking. "Everything's fucked. I…"

Shaking his head, he opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't find the words. Instead he buried his face into his hands and burst into tears. The bubble of happiness and excitement in Albus' chest burst. He hurried forward and hugged Scorpius who immediately threw his arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder.

"What the hell happened?" asked Albus, although he could take an educated guess.

"Went to Dad's to talk," he croaked, his voice shaking a little. "Only Granny and Grandad were there, too. I didn't know they were going to be there but…" he shrugged. "They're going to find out about us one way or another, so I figured two birds, one stone; gets telling them out of the way as well. I mean, I didn't think they'd be thrilled, but when I told them about us they..."

Scorpius' voice trailed off. Albus sighed and guided Scorpius over to the couch. Sitting down, Scorpius lay his head over Albus' lap, hugging himself tightly. Albus stroked Scorpius' silky blonde hair, soothing him.

"Do I want to know what they said?" he asked pointedly.

"Not really," Scorpius replied thickly. "Safe to say I'm a bigger disappointment to the family than Granny's sister, Andromeda."

Albus scoffed, "Why, because you're in love with a bloke?"

"I'm not sure what upset them more if I'm honest," said Scorpius. "That I said I was dating a guy, or that I was dating you."

"You mean a Potter," said Albus. Scorpius nodded. Albus clenched his hand into a tight fist, digging his fingernails into the soft flesh of his palm, trying to keep his temper in check but failing miserably.

"What did your dad say?" he asked stiffly.

"He didn't say much," said Scorpius. "Although Grandad was doing enough talking for the three of them. Grandad drew his wand on me-"

"He what?" snapped Albus in disbelief.

"He drew his wand on me," Scorpius repeated. "Told me that I must be under some sort of bewitchment; that you'd slipped me Amortentia or used the Imperius curse - that was the only logical explanation for my behaviour. 'Malfoy's aren't that way inclined', he said; never have been."

"Well that's bollocks," grumbled Albus. "What did your dad do?"

"He pulled his wand on Grandad and they started screaming at each other. Granny started crying. I just ran," said Scorpius. "I didn't think it would turn out this bad. I don't understand why they're so angry with me."

It hurt Albus to see Scorpius like this - made to feel so small and worthless. Another hot flare of anger rose up inside of him; he wanted to hurt the Malfoys for hurting Scorpius. But he knew he couldn't do that. Instead he did the only thing that he could. He leaned forward and kissed Scorpius on the temple.

"You did the right thing just getting out of there," Albus assured him. "I'm so sorry, Scorp. I should have gone with you."

Scorpius shook his head, "It wouldn't have made a difference, it would have all went to shit either way."

"I know," Albus commiserated. "I just wish I was there for you."

Scorpius turned and looked up at Albus. His eyes were puffy and red, his hair wet from tears. But he smiled warmly at him and said, "You're here for me now."

Albus traced his thumb over Scorpius' cheek, "I'll always be there for you, Scorp. I'll always be there to pick you up when you fall."

He leaned forward and gently pressed their lips together, trying to convey in the kiss everything that Scorpius meant to him - hoping that Scorpius knew that there was still someone who accepted and loved him for everything that he was without judgement. A fierce, powerful feeling of protective love swelled up inside of Albus, then.

 _Fuck the Malfoys,_ he thought savagely. Fuck the world and anyone who tried to tear them asunder. It had always been Scorpius and Albus against the rest of the world. All through school, against their families, against other students and Death Eaters and madmen. Fine. So long as they had each other, they could do anything they set their minds to; rewrite time, if they really wanted to.

 _Scorpius and Albus_ , he thought. _Always_.

* * *

It took a while to calm Scorpius enough to suggest they sit down and have their dinner. Although Scorpius said he enjoyed his meal, he didn't eat very much. Albus suspected that was more to do with how he was feeling than the quality of his cooking, although he couldn't deny that he preferred Scorpius' cooking over his any day. Scorpius' mood dipped again when his father's owl appeared at the living room window with a letter for him. He tried to ignore it, but the bird was trained to be persistent, and only took its leave when Scorpius grudgingly accepted the letter before discarding it into the coffee table without bothering to read it.

There wasn't much else Albus could think to say to cheer him up, but he endeavoured to raise his boyfriend's spirits as best he could; he grabbed the quilt from the bedroom and got Scorpius comfortable on the couch, made him a hot chocolate (with marshmallows, of course) and cuddled up to him. Scorpius' mood lifted a little when Albus put on his favourite film, _Ghostbusters_. It always tickled him at how inaccurate their depictions of ghosts were.

"I mean, Slimer is obviously a poltergeist, not a ghost," he noted with a smile, shaking his head. "Silly Muggles…"

As it drew closer to midnight, Scorpius was more like his usual self again - a little sedate perhaps, but more relaxed than when he had first come home. As the film credits rolled, Scorpius kissed Albus on the cheek.

"Thank you for taking care of me tonight," he said quietly. Albus squeezed his shoulder.

"No problem," he smiled. He checked his watch and noted, "It's almost Christmas."

Scorpius clapped his hands together excitedly, "Brilliant! Are you ready to swap presents then?"

"Well, it's still another five minutes before it's officially Christmas," he teased. Scorpius groaned.

"I can't wait that long!" he cried. "Close your eyes while I grab your present. It's still in my coat pocket."

Albus smiled and obeyed, hands outstretched and waiting. It was a little tradition that Scorpius had had with his mother that they each open small gifts from one another at midnight, a tradition that Albus and Scorpius had kept going after his mother had passed away. After a moment he felt something small and soft being placed in his hands. He opened his eyes and he laughed.

"Gloves," he smirked, turning over the green woollen mittens in his hands. "Just what I needed. Thanks, Scorp."

"You're welcome," he beamed. "So...did you get me something?"

"Maybe…" he teased, rising to his feet. He rummaged under the tree for the small parcel, Scorpius leaning over his shoulder hopping on the spot excitedly.

"What is it?" he asked keenly.

"You'll find out in a sec!" sniggered Albus, holding the gift behind his back. "You're such a big kid."

"And you're a tease!" laughed Scorpius, trying to snatch the gift from Albus' hand, but he held it out of reach. After a few moments of playful tussling, Albus relented and held out the gift which was concealed inside a paper bag. Scorpius took the proffered bag excitedly and peered inside. He frowned.

"Pepper Imps?" he asked. He looked up at Albus with a confused expression. "That's my gift?"

Albus stepped uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Obviously the moment wasn't coming across as significantly as he had originally intended.

"The first time we ever met was on the Hogwarts Express," he reminded him. "You shared your Pepper Imps with me. It was the first thing we ever shared together."

A look of dawning and surprise spread over Scorpius' face, "Oh yes, so it was. I'm surprised you remember that."

"I remember a lot of things," Albus continued taking a tentative step towards him. "I remember being so afraid that day - afraid I was going to be put into Slytherin…" Scorpius smiled and rolled his eyes. "Afraid I wasn't going to live up to my father's expectations. Afraid of being alone. Afraid of...of everything, really."

He reached out and tucked a stray blonde hair behind Scorpius' ear, tracing the tips of his fingers down his neck. Scorpius shivered and gazed intently at Albus as he continued, "I remember the first time I saw you - a small, blonde boy sitting alone in his compartment, looking as nervous and as unsure as I felt. Then you turned to me and smiled, and even that made me feel a little braver."

Albus carefully placed his free hand on Scorpius' hip, pulling him closer, "I remember you asked me if you wanted to share your sweets with me, because 'Sweets, they always help you make friends'," he sang and Scorpius laughed, his pale cheeks flushing pink at the memory. Albus continued, "And I remember when the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin, you clapped the hardest and were the first person to hug me and make me feel welcome at Hogwarts. You were the only person that made that place a home for me."

Scorpius' eyes shone bright with tears. He blinked and one trickled down his cheek and Albus carefully brushed it away with his thumb.

"We've been best friends for a long time, Scorp," he said quietly. "We've had a lot of firsts together - first friends, first fights, a first kiss…"

They leaned closer to each other, brushing their lips together, then Scorpius slipped his tongue into Albus' mouth, pulling him closer. Scorpius dropped the bag of Pepper Imps onto the floor and cupped Albus' cheeks, kissing him back like he was starving for it. After a moment he broke the kiss and whispered, "I think I'm ready for another first tonight."

A jolt of nervousness and lust shot through Albus at those words. He nodded mutely and Scorpius grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the bedroom. They quickly stripped each other until they stood naked and aroused, bodies pressed flush against one another. A slight panic began to rise inside of Albus then; how were they going to do this?

Scorpius took control and gently pulled Albus towards the bed. He lay back and bent his knees, guiding Albus to sit between his legs. Albus' heart was racing; they'd talked about doing this enough times (of course, Scorpius had done the research on how exactly to do it) but he still felt like he was diving head first into previously unexplored territory. Scorpius took Albus' hand into his own and gave him a warm smile.

"Don't be nervous," he said quietly. "I'm not. Not with you."

Albus took a deep breath and nodded, feeling a little more at ease already. Scorpius kissed his fingers, half-lidded and darkened with want. He drew Albus' fingers into his mouth, swirling his tongue around them until they were slick and wet, then guided Albus' hand back down towards his arse, spreading his legs wider in invitation. Albus' body pulsed with arousal and anticipation. He was nervous about what he was about to do, worried that he would hurt Scorpius. But Scorpius looked completely at ease, completely trusting that Albus wouldn't hurt him, it gave him the courage to proceed. He carefully traced his wet finger around the rim of Scorpius' hole, feeling a sharp jolt of pleasure shoot through him as Scorpius gasped at even this slight contact. He paid close attention to every ragged breath, tensed muscle and incoherent murmuring that fell from Scorpius' lips as he continued to experimentally tease Scorpius' hole with his index finger, pushing in slightly then withdrawing, watching with lustful fixation as it pulsed, tightening and loosening at his touch.

"You're a tease," said Scorpius, laughing breathlessly. He looked into Albus' face, "If it hurts, I'll let you know. I trust you."

Albus swallowed hard and nodded vigorously. Scorpius had always been the braver of the two - the first one to speak to Albus and make friends with him, the first one to kiss him, the first one to do this…

Their gazes locked for a moment as Albus finally slipped his index finger, slowly and deliberately, inside of Scorpius. Scorpius gasped and threw his head back against the pillow as Albus carefully withdrew his finger in a smooth stroke.

"Is this okay?" he asked uncertainly. Scorpius nodded.

"Feels good," he breathed, his voice a little strained. Albus began to ease his finger in and out of Scorpius in a slow but steady rhythm and soon Scorpius was moving with him, pushing himself down onto Albus' finger, encouraging him to press deeper. Eventually Scorpius was relaxed enough for Albus to include a second finger, then a third.

Soon Scorpius was groaning more loudly with increasing frequency, squeezing his throbbing cock as Albus continued to tease his fingers in and out of his body in a steady rhythm, moving slowly and with care. He enjoyed the way Scorpius' body clenched around his fingers, loved the way his thighs tensed and his back arched off of the bed, gasping at the intense pleasure that Albus was giving him. He had to squeeze his own cock hard to stop himself coming at the mere sight of him, writhing and moaning beneath him. As Scorpius drew close to orgasm he gently pushed Albus away and he carefully removed his fingers. His pulse quickened again; it was almost time. He leaned forward, lowering himself between Scorpius' legs, but Scorpius quickly flipped him onto his back and straddled Albus' hips, looking nervous but determined.

"Y-you want to do it this way?" he asked surprised. Scorpius nodded.

"I want to be the one to make you come," he replied, his voice low and gravelly.

"Shit," croaked Albus, feeling light-headed with arousal now. He loved this confident, assertive Scorpius. Albus gripped Scorpius' slim hips to steady him as Scorpius lined Albus' cock with his entrance. As his head pressed against Scorpius' breach, Albus' heart began to hammer so hard in his chest that it hurt. His lust and fear piqued - he really wanted this, but he didn't want to hurt Scorpius, either. Fuck, what if he hurt him?

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, his voice shaking a little. Scorpius paused and leaned over to kiss him, gently brushing their lips together.

"I'm sure," he whispered. "Let's just take our time."

Albus nodded, cupped Scorpius' cheeks and kissed him harder. What was it about this man that always made him feel a little braver? Slowly, carefully, Scorpius lowered himself onto Albus' cock. When Albus' head pushed passed the tight ring of muscles his breath came out in short, sharp bursts at the sheer intensity of feeling the velvety heat of Scorpius' body surrounding him. Fuck, it felt amazing.

Scorpius' thighs were shaking, his eyes clenched tightly shut, a look of mingled pain and pleasure and concentration washing over his face. Albus took Scorpius' hand and kissed his palm. Scorpius' eyes slid open, swimming pools of silver, half-lidded with arousal.

"Too much?" Albus whispered. Taking shallow breaths, unable to speak, Scorpius shook his head. Taking a few moments to get his breath back he leaned back against Albus, taking him deeper into his body. Scorpius whimpered and his eyelids fluttered shut, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he took another moment to adjust to the intensity of the sensation. Slowly, he began to rise up and down, Albus' length sliding in and out of his body in long strokes. Albus groaned as a deep, pleasant ache of pleasure spread out from his groin, up his back and across his chest, catching his breath. Scorpius laced their fingers together and picked up the pace, grinding up and down, back on forth onto Albus' cock creating a delicious friction. Gaining confidence now, Albus began to thrust his hips upwards into Scorpius and felt another jolt of pleasure as Scorpius cried out, pressing down harder onto Albus now, encouraging him to go faster and harder by meeting his thrusts.

Albus continued to thrust his hips upwards like a piston, knocking short, sharp gasps from Scorpius. He looked up and marvelled at the the sight before him; Scorpius' head flung back, eyes closed and mouth slack, totally lost in the overwhelming sensations, his ass clenching so tightly around Albus' cock that it left him breathless. Scorpius' body was slick with sweat as he continued to roll his hips back and forth, up and down, over and over again, picking up speed, closer and closer to climax. Albus' eyes trailed down Scorpius' beautiful body, taut with tension and fixed upon his erection, achingly hard and bobbing up and down in time with Scorpius' increasingly sporadic movements. Albus slipped one hand free from Scorpius' and took the cock in hand and began to pump it back and forth to the same rhythm as his own hips.

"Oh god," Scorpius called out in a strangled cry. His back arched and he cried out, come spilling over Albus' hand and stomach. Albus kept pumping and thrusting Scorpius through the crest of his orgasm, committing to memory every beautiful moan that fell from his lips, the look on his face as he completely lost himself at Albus' touch was enough to push him over the edge. He gasped, then groaned as his own orgasm took hold, great waves of pleasure washing over him as he was overwhelmed with lust and love for the man above him, the only tangible thought ringing through his head, echoing _I love you, I love you_ , over and over again.

Scorpius came in a series of muscle-tensing, body shaking pulses that left him trembling, only Albus' firm grip of his hand keeping him anchored upright as his legs began to tremble. Exhausted and sated he fell forward into Albus' chest, smearing come and sweat between them, but neither of them cared. Albus slid his hands up Scorpius' back and held him tight until he came down from his own climax-high.

"God, I love you," he sighed, his voice muffled against' Scorpius' shoulder. Scorpius gently kissed Albus' neck.

"I love you, too," he whispered. Albus felt his heart soar every time he heard him say those words. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of hearing him say it. _I love you._

Albus rolled Scorpius onto his back and gazed down at him and his breath hitched. Scorpius' expression was full of desire and adoration, and it gave Albus' heart a pleasant ache. The connection between them had always been intense, at times it had been overwhelming. But looking down at Scorpius lying beneath him - naked, beautiful, perfect - it hit Albus then with sheer clarity that he had loved this man for a very long time. The nature of their relationship may have evolved somewhat in the last few weeks, but those feelings, those lingering desires, had been there for as long as Albus could remember.

He rested his head onto Scorpius' chest and held him tight, closing his eyes contentedly as Scorpius began teasing his wild, black hair between his fingers.

 _Who could find fault in this man?_ thought Albus. This kind, funny, perfect, beautiful man who made Albus feel humbled by his love. Who could ever want to change perfection? The mere suggestion of it was heresy in his eyes. Albus made a silent promise to himself, to always endeavour to make Scorpius feel as loved and cared for as he ought to be.


	12. An Unexpected Visitor

Albus woke the next morning to gentle kisses on his shoulders and neck. He smiled and turned still half-asleep to press his lips against Scorpius', brushing his silken blonde hair out of his face.

"Morning," he croaked.

"Merry Christmas," said Scorpius gently, burying his head into the crook of Albus' neck and hugging him tightly. Albus breathed in the scent of his hair and felt the ache of love and longing swell up inside of him. He had never felt so utterly contented in his life than he did in this moment. This single moment, waking up next to the person he loved most in the world, was sheer perfection. He wanted to wake up like this every single day for the rest of his life.

 _Well, why shouldn't I?_ he thought boldly. Yes, why didn't he just do this every day? There was nothing in London that was really holding him back; he was already considering changing courses, he could come up to Edinburgh to study instead. And Pippa had already said Scorpius had thought about it, too...it was definitely something worth talking about. Of course, his mum and dad would be disappointed at the disruption in his studies, but it wasn't even like he was particularly passionate about Transfiguration, anway. Albus wasn't worried - he was sure even if his parents didn't understand they would support him regardless. He'd thought long and hard about what he really wanted in life. Well, here it was - here he was - in his arms. If he were perfectly honest, Albus didn't much care where he ended up - just so long as Scorpius was by his side, he'd be content to live in an igloo at the North Pole if need be.

 _Maybe not the North Pole_ , he thought ruefully, remembering how poor his ice-skating abilities were. Still, Scorpius would always be there to catch him if he fell.

The pleasant thought and sheer possibility of it took hold in his brain. He would definitely talk to Scorpius about this, see what his thoughts were on the matter. But right now, he was perfectly contented to stay exactly where he was, in his cosy bed with Scorpius wrapped up in his arms, watching the snow fall outside the bedroom window.

"Let's just stay here all day," he suggested playfully.

"Mmm, sounds good," murmured Scorpius. Albus could feel him smile against his skin, then heard his stomach rumble. "Okay, maybe grab some breakfast, then come back to bed."

Albus laughed and gave Scorpius another kiss before slipping out of bed. Scorpius rested his head on one elbow and watched Albus strut about the bedroom naked with a fond expression.

"Are you going to wander about the flat like that?" he asked lightly. Albus flashed him a wicked grin.

"Maybe," he teased. "Well, I would if your flat wasn't so bloody cold. It's like being back in the Slytherin Dungeons."

He scooped up Scorpius' shirt off of the floor and slipped it over his slim body, inspecting himself in the mirror. The sleeves and tail were too long for him, but short enough to showcase his tanned legs. He tried to flatten his bed-head hair sticking out in all directions, but to little effect. He and Scorpius' eyes met through the mirror and he smiled.

"How do I look?" he asked, striking a pose.

"Hot," smirked Scorpius. "The just-shagged look suits you."

"That's a relief. I think I'll be sporting the just-shagged look on a permanent basis now I'm with you," he joked.

"That can be arranged," replied Scorpius silkily, patting the empty space next to him. "If you come back to bed. You can keep that shirt on if you like?"

"I will in a minute," he promised, slipping out of the bedroom door. "After I've made our breakfast."

"You spoil me!" Scorpius called after him.

"I like spoiling you," he shouted over his shoulder, strutting towards the kitchen. Humming to himself he pulled open the fridge door and perused what was on offer. There was still some turkey leftover from last night's dinner, but he wanted to make an effort this morning. There was some eggs and milk, he could always make some French toast with bacon…

There was a loud popping noise signalling someone apparating directly into the kitchen. Albus looked up, expecting to see either Pippa or Rose standing in front of him. Instead he yelped and jumped back in fright, bashing the bottom of his back on the kitchen counter as none other than Draco Malfoy stood before him, his expression stony.

"Good morning, Albus," he greeted him politely. His grey eyes flicked down at Albus' bare legs and back up to his face again, "Merry Christmas."

Albus pulled the fridge door open to shield the bottom half of his body, painfully aware that he hadn't bothered to put on a pair of boxers before coming into the kitchen.

"M-Mr. Malfoy," Albus stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

Draco arched an eyebrow, "I am here to see my son, of course. I sent an owl last night telling him to expect my arrival. Am I to presume that he did not receive that message?"

"Ahh, no, 'fraid not," Albus laughed nervously. A long, uncomfortable silence followed as both men avoided each other's gaze. Albus was fighting every fibre of his being to turn tail and run but the same fierce protectiveness he felt last night rose up in him again. With difficulty he cleared his throat and crossed his arms.

"Scorpius is in bed at the moment," he said stiffly. "I don't know whether or not he'll want to talk to you, if I'm honest."

Draco nodded solemnly, "He told you what happened then."

"Of course he told me," he replied forcefully. "I'm his boyfriend."

Albus wasn't sure where his false sense of courage came from considering he was currently trouserless and wandless. Still, he felt compelled to defend his boyfriend from further grief. To his surprise though, Mr. Malfoy didn't look angry or disgusted at those words. He simply smiled and bowed his head.

"I knew I could always count on you to have Scorpius' back," he said quietly.

"Yeah, I will," declared Albus. "Even if his own family won't."

Mr. Malfoy's smile fell and he frowned, "I'm not here to fight with Scorpius. I just want to have a word with him about what happened."

Albus hesitated, unsure of what to do. Still, he didn't want Mr. Malfoy knowing that. He nodded curtly and said, "Fine. I'll tell him you're here. But there's no guarantee he'll want to speak to you."

Mr. Malfoy inclined his head towards him, "Thank you Albus, I'll wait here for him."

"Right," said Albus firmly, marching passed Scorpius' father as quickly as he could, avoiding his gaze.

"Scorp!" he hissed hurrying into the bedroom and closing the door behind him. "Get up!"

"Mmm..?" Scorpius rolled over in bed, still tangled up in the bedsheets and stretched his long limbs like a feline. "Is breakfast ready? That was quick."

Albus shook his head, "Your Dad's here."

Scorpius froze.

"What?" he asked, frowning with confusion.

"Your Dad is here," Albus repeated. "He's in the kitchen. He wants to talk to you."

Scorpius sat bolt upright in bed, looking horror struck.

"Shit," he hissed. He threw the bed covers off of himself and scrambled for his clothes strewn across the floor, dressing as quickly as possible. He looked at Albus as he pulled on his jeans and grimaced, "He saw you like that?"

Albus groaned and nodded. Flopping back onto the bed he buried his face in his hands with mounting horror, "Shit, I'm sorry."

Scorpius sighed and shook his head, "You've nothing to be sorry about, Albus. He's the one that's turned up unannounced."

Albus peaked at Scorpius through his fingers, "Do you want me to come through there with you? You don't have to do this on your own."

Scorpius gave Albus an appraising smile. He leaned forward and kissed him hard on the mouth before straightening back up to pull the zip up on his jeans.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm probably better speaking to him on my own," he said. "Thank you, though. Just knowing you're waiting here for me makes this easier to do, no matter what happens."

"Of course I'm here for you," said Albus quietly. "I love you."

"I love you, too," said Scorpius. He kissed him once more on the lips for good measure, pulled on an old t-shirt and hurried out of the room.

"Good luck," Albus called after him. He sighed and flopped back onto the bed, his mind racing.

* * *

Scorpius lingered outside the kitchen door, afraid of what awaited him on the other side. A small part of him was tempted to Apparate out of the flat, to avoid having this confrontation entirely. But he thought of Albus waiting for him in the other room and it gave him the courage to push open the door and step inside. It was finally time to be honest with his father, no matter the outcome.

Draco Malfoy sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in one hand and that morning's edition of the Daily Prophet in the other opened at the business section. He didn't look up from his paper when he spoke.

"So, you have finally decided to join me," he joked. "I was beginning to wonder whether you had gotten lost between here and your bedroom."

Scorpius sunk into the chair opposite his father, shoulders hunched but he kept his gaze fixed on his father's face. He was nervous of course, but it wasn't as though he had anything to be ashamed about.

"Merry Christmas, Father," said Scorpius politely. "I wasn't expecting to see you today."

Draco glanced up from his newspaper to meet his son's gaze.

"I take that you didn't get my owl," he asked, closing his newspaper and sitting his cup down.

"I did," Scorpius confirmed quietly. "But I didn't read it."

Draco nodded, "Understandable. What happened yesterday was...unpleasant."

"That's putting it mildly," Scorpius replied glumly. "Why are you here, Dad? I told you that Albus and I are in a relationship; I wasn't asking your permission - I was merely keeping you informed. If you think you're going to change my mind about this, you're wasting your time."

"I'm not here to fight with you Scorpius and I'm not going to try and change your mind," said Draco sharply, then added more gently. "I came to apologise."

Scorpius frowned.

"You...you came to apologise?" he asked in disbelief. Draco nodded, wringing his hands agitatedly in his lap as he spoke, but his gaze remained steady.

"Yesterday you came to me in confidence and I let you down. I'm sorry you were made to feel unwelcome and unwanted in your own home," Draco shook his head in disgust. "The way your grandfather behaved was unforgivable. I've already had words with him about it-"

"When I left you were both screaming your heads off and threatening each other with curses," Scorpius pointed out darkly.

"Okay, so I shouted until I was blue in the face and he finally shut up for long enough to listen to what I had to say," Draco relented. "I laid my cards out on the table for your grandfather; I told him that who you loved was no concern of his and if he couldn't accept you as a person, then that was his loss; that he wouldn't just be losing you, he'd be losing me also."

Scorpius gaped at his father, "You really said that?"

"I did," he confirmed with a curt nod. "Unfortunately this isn't the first time your grandfather's overstepped the mark when it comes to interpersonal relationships."

Scorpius frowned, confused by his father's cryptic comment. Draco continued, "When I met your mother again after the war, I knew that we were meant to spend the rest of our lives together. Unfortunately, your grandparents weren't inclined to agree."

Scorpius' eyes widened with shock, "Granny and Grandad didn't approve?"

"Certainly not," said Draco with a hollow laugh. "Your grandfather did everything in his power to break our union, but to no avail. He made many of the same petty accusations then as he did yesterday - that love potions and spells were the only explanation for my infatuation; he couldn't accept that I really was in love with your mother. But for the first time in my life I didn't much care what my father thought; I just knew I had to marry her. So, I can appreciate on some level how apprehensive you were about telling me. I'm sorry that you didn't have the chance to tell me on your own first; yesterday's discussion would have turned out quite differently."

Scorpius felt some of the fear and uncertainty he'd been carrying with him lessen a little. He looked curiously at his father, "Why didn't Granny and Grandad like Mum? She was a pureblood."

"A pureblood from a wealthy family," confirmed Draco with a wry smile. "Unfortunately, she had quite liberal views when it came to bloody purity and Muggleborns; views that your grandparents thought made her unworthy to carry the Malfoy name."

"But you disagreed?" asked Scorpius. Draco sighed.

"I will admit when I was young, I cared about those things a great deal; being raised in a household with dogmatic principles about blood purity and birthrights - with no outside influence to say otherwise - I believed it as much as your grandparents still do," he explained. "I learned the hard way not to place much credence in a lot of what your grandparents say or do."

Scorpius nodded, appreciating his father's honesty on the matter. He didn't speak much about what happened during the war, but he heard enough during his school days to know that his father and grandfather were on the wrong side of the conflict; one of the many things that others held against Scorpius but Albus never judged him for.

"By the time I met your mother, I didn't much care for those things anymore," said Draco. "I just wanted you and your mother to be happy. We raised you to be your own person Scorpius, to make your own choices in life. So regardless of what your grandparents think, I want you to know that you'll always have my support. Understood?"

Scorpius bowed his head and nodded, trying with difficulty to hold back tears.

"So," said Draco slowly. "You and Albus."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Me and Albus."

"He looks well," Draco noted lightly.

"Yeah, he's good," he replied shortly. He chanced a sly glance at his father, "Are you disappointed in me?"

Draco gave his son a stern look, "Do you love each other?"

Scorpius hesitated for a moment before admitting, "Yes."

"And he makes you happy?" Draco pressed on.

"Yes," Scorpius confirmed more firmly.

"Then no, I'm not disappointed," he answered sincerely. "All I've ever wanted for you was to be happy, Scorpius. I may not have been very successful in providing that at times, but I've always endeavoured to keep you happy and safe. If Albus can give you the love and happiness that you deserve, then I am contented."

Scorpius felt a great weight he hadn't realised had been weighing him down lift from his shoulders at those words. He roughly wiped away tears with the back of his hand.

"I was so afraid to tell you," he admitted, his voice breaking. "I was afraid of letting you down."

"If I'm honest, your smoking habits give me greater cause for concern than your sexuality," he quipped with a wry smile. Scorpius gave a hollow laugh and rolled his eyes. Draco and rested his hand on the kitchen table, tentatively reaching out to his son.

"I have many things to be ashamed and regretful about in my life, more than I care to admit," he began. He looked up into his son's eyes, his gaze intent. "You are not amongst them. I've watched you grow up into a fine young man - headstrong and kind, just like your mother. I count my blessings that you have more of her in you than myself; you're a better man for it. I'm proud of the man you've become, Scorpius. Your mother would be proud of you, too."

"Dad…" croaked Scorpius before bursting into tears and throwing his arms around his father. Draco hugged him back tightly, a swelling feeling of pride bursting inside of him. They held each other like that for a long time, but finally Scorpius pulled away and used his sleeve to wipe the stream of free-flowing tears from his eyes.

"You've no idea how much of a relief it is to hear you say that," he laughed weakly. "I thought if I told you I was gay you were going to hate me."

"I couldn't hate you Scorpius, you're my boy," Draco assured him. He hesitated a moment before admitting, "Though, I must confess that this doesn't come as a complete surprise to me."

Scorpius looked sharply at his father, "Really? W-what made you think I was?"

Draco smiled fondly, "It's nothing you've said or done; your mother was just always more perceptive about these things. Before she passed, she warned me to expect a conversation like this at some point."

Scorpius' pale cheeks flushed crimson, "You and Mum already knew?"

"Your mother suspected and I was always inclined to trust her judgement on these matters," Draco explained. "With regards to Albus...well, the intensity of your relationship never seemed to lessen as you aged. So, naturally, I assumed…" Draco shrugged. "I figured that you would tell me yourself when you were ready."

"It wasn't like that with me and Albus," argued Scorpius. He lowered his gaze then added, "Well, not until recently, anyway."

"Still, even just as friends it's clear how much you care for each other. Your mother was my best friend too, you know…" Draco's voice trailed and a pained expression flashed across his face. He cleared his throat and continued, "I know I probably don't talk about your mother often enough, but I loved her very much. I can only hope that you love someone as deeply as I loved - still love - her. If that is what you and Albus have, then you must cherish every moment you have together."

"I will," Scorpius promised. He gave his father a sympathetic look, "You know, you didn't do a bad job raising me, Dad. You did a great job, really. Because I am happy. I'm happy with myself and with Albus. And I have a lot more of you in me than you think; I'm glad that I do."

Draco lowered his gaze and smiled, "Thank you for saying that."

Wiping away the last of his tears, Scorpius rose to his feet, "Do you want a fresh cup of coffee?"

"Please," nodded Draco, watching his son prepare three fresh cups. "So...am I going to be going to be calling Albus my son-in-law in the near-future, or..?"

"Dad!" laughed Scorpius, an embarrassed grin spreading across his face. Draco chuckled and raised his hands in mock-surrender.

"Alright, I'll take that it's too soon for something like that," he relented. "But if you need help with anything like that…"

"You'll be the first to know," Scorpius assured him.

"Good, good…" Draco nodded, smiling. "So, what do you have planned for today?"

"Nothing planned 'til later this afternoon," said Scorpius, scooping coffee granules and sugar into each cup. "I'm going over to Albus' parents house later this evening."

"Oh?" asked Draco, trying to sound casual. "So...do they know about you and Albus yet?"

"His dad does," Scorpius confirmed. Draco frowned.

"Really?" he asked interestedly. "And he's okay with it?"

"Yeah, he's fine," Scorpius assured him. Draco's stern expression relaxed a little.

"Good, that's good," he nodded approvingly. "I was worried for a moment that I'd have to go round to his house and have words with him, too."

"Dad," chided Scorpius gently, smiling broadly. "He's still got to tell his mum, though. He's asked me to go with him, so I think she'll be okay with it."

Draco nodded, "Well, since you have no prior engagement this morning...I thought it would be nice to visit your mother's graveside. Take some flowers to her. We haven't been to see her in a while."

"Oh," Scorpius placed his father's fresh cup of coffee in front of him. "Yes, I suppose it has been a while."

Seemingly reading his son's mind, he added, "Albus can come too, if you'd like?"

Scorpius thought about it for a moment, then nodded, "Yeah, I'd like that. I'll go see if he wants to come with us. We can have breakfast here first and then we can head out together."

Draco smiled, "That would be nice."

Scorpius paused before leaving the kitchen then turned and hugged his father again.

"Thanks, Dad," he whispered. Draco squeezed his son back hard, a maelstrom of emotions swirling inside of him. Scorpius pulled away and disappeared out of the room, a slight spring in his step that made him smile. He unconsciously turned his silver wedding band around his finger over and over, wishing now more than ever that Astoria was here.


	13. Clan Potter

Albus stood in front of his parent's cottage in Godric's Hollow, trying to muster up the courage to step through the front door. He was fairly certain that his mum would be fine with his news, but the revelation that her youngest son was gay and in a relationship with his best friend would irrevocably change how she saw him. He wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

Scorpius slipped his hand into Albus' and the fear and tension that had gripped him lessened.

"You ready for this?" asked Scorpius. Albus looked between his childhood home and his boyfriend; his past and his future. He gave Scorpius' hand a slight squeeze and nodded. As he pushed open the gate to the picturesque cottage, his heart began to hammer painfully in his chest.

 _You'll be fine, you'll be fine_ … he told himself over and over again as he approached the front door. Albus felt like he was having an out-of-body experience, watching himself knock and push open the cottage door, kicking the snow off of his shoes before stepping further into the house, holding onto Scorpius' hand for dear life.

"It's me!" he shouted, before adding. "And Scorpius."

Scorpius flashed him a wide grin, pulling off his wool hat and stuffing it into his coat pocket. His platinum locks stuck out in all directions and he tried to smooth it down.

"Do I look alright?" he asked, looking worried for the first time. Albus kissed his cheek.

"You look amazing," he said sincerely and Scorpius blushed. He tugged Scorpius' hand, "Come on. They're probably all in the kitchen helping Mum with the dinner."

Walking down the long corridor towards the back of the cottage, Albus took a deep breath before pushing the kitchen door open and stepping inside. The conversation in the kitchen immediately died and Albus froze, horror struck, as not only his mother, father and siblings were in the kitchen, but a large number of his extended family, as well; Aunt Hermione stood in the far corner of the room with Uncle Ron and his other siblings, all grinning mischievously at him. His grandparents sat at the kitchen table with several of his cousins, including Rose and Pippa who winked at Albus. Luna and his godfather Neville were there too, waving enthusiastically at him. Merlin, even Teddy and his girlfriend Daisy were here. The kitchen was packed with Weasleys and they were all staring fixedly at Albus and Scorpius who both stood paralysed with shock by the kitchen door, holding each other's hands tightly.

"Al. Scorpius," called Harry, pushing his way passed everyone to reach them. He smiled sheepishly at them and pulled them both into an awkward hug. "Merry Christmas, boys."

"You promised you wouldn't say anything," hissed Albus, glaring at his father.

"I didn't!" Harry whispered. "Everyone already knew when they turned up this morning."

Albus drew an accusatory look over his father's shoulder at his sister.

"Don't look at me!" she protested loudly. "I kept my mouth shut."

Her eyes darted towards their cousin Hugo, who sat at the kitchen table trying and failing to hide behind a tankard of butterbeer. He looked up apologetically at Albus and Scorpius.

"Sorry guys," he grimaced. "But you know what my mum's like-"

"Excuse me?" cried Hermione indignantly, putting her hands on her hips. "What exactly are you insinuating?"

Hugo sunk lower into his seat and mumbled, "Nothing."

"I think your mistake Hermione, was telling Ron," George chipped in unhelpfully. "He's incapable of keeping a secret."

"Oi!" Ron shouted angrily at his brother. "I told you about the boys in confidence! You shouldn't have told Angie!"

"She's my wife, you plum," he sneered. "Of course I was going to tell her! It wasn't our fault Mum overheard us talking about it…"

Soon everyone was talking over one another. As shouting and laughter erupted all around him, Albus desperately scanned the chaos of the room, trying to meet his mother's eye. Ginny stood by the stove, arms crossed and face like thunder. She drew her wand and swished it above her head.

" _Langlock!"_ she cried, and the entire room was suddenly rendered mute. Several people clutched their throats and gulped, their eyes wide with shock at suddenly having their tongues glued to the roof of their mouths. Ginny lowered her wand and bellowed, "Now that I have everyone's attention, will you all kindly bugger off out of my kitchen? I'd like to have a word with my son in peace without you lot gawking at us."

There was a loud scraping of chairs and shuffling of feet as everyone except Albus, Scorpius and Harry left the kitchen, each drawing Ginny a contemptuous look as they passed. As the door slammed shut behind the last straggler, Ginny pointed her wand at the door.

" _Colloportus!"_ she cried and the doors lock clicked loudly, then swept her arm above her head. " _Silencio."_

Finally afforded some privacy Ginny pocketed her wand and leaned against the kitchen stove.

"Thank Merlin you two are finally here," she sighed, rubbing her eyes. "They've been driving me crazy all morning." She looked up and fixed her gaze on the two boys who still lingered by the kitchen door, looking nervous and uncertain.

"So, you two have some news for me," she said lightly. Albus and Scorpius gaped at her.

"Uhh…" Albus hadn't prepared for this situation and wasn't sure what to say now. But his mother looked more expectant than angry, and that was enough to give Albus the courage to say, "Scorpius and me are boyfriends. With each other."

The grand confession sounded a bit lame when he said it like that. The last part maybe wasn't a necessary edition, but it was enough to make Scorpius snort and a smile to twitch across his father's lips. Ginny scrutinised her son closely for a moment before nodding curtly.

"Okay, I appreciate you both coming here to tell me that. If you're both happy, then I'm happy for you," she beckoned both boys over. "Come here…"

Albus and Scorpius walked over and she pulled them both into a tight hug, one which they returned gladly. Harry watched on, smiling.

"There's not much else to say other than I love you both," she sighed. "Just make sure that you're using protection-"

"Mum!" Albus groaned, his cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. Ginny however, took no notice.

"Be safe and be responsible, that's all that I ask," she continued. Pulling away she slapped her son on the arm and gave him a stern look, "And you're not off the hook yet, young man," she warned, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "I've heard that you're thinking of of dropping out of university."

Albus' elation and relief at his mother's acceptance evaporated almost as quickly as it had arisen.

"Oh," he grimaced. "That."

"Yes, that," she clipped. "We'll be having words about that later. But first things first...Scorpius," Ginny pulled off her apron and slipped it over the top of his head. "If you're going to be eating the food, then you're going to help me make it. Come, I'll show you how to make the perfect honey-roasted parsnips."

Scorpius smiled sheepishly and fumbled trying to tie the apron behind his back as Ginny beckoned him over to the kitchen counter where the ingredients lay.

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter," he said politely. Ginny gave him an appraising smile and patted him on the back.

"I've said to you before, call me Ginny," she reminded him. "Now, I imagine you're quite a good cook, being a Potions student…"

While Ginny directed Scorpius on how to prepare the parsnips, Harry and Albus were tasked with peeling the potatoes. Ginny decided to leave the kitchen door locked in part because she was enjoying peace and quiet from the rest of the family, but took the opportunity to talk through things with Albus, namely how unhappy he had been in recent months with his life in London. Although his parents weren't pleased at the idea of him leaving in the middle of his Transfiguration degree, they agreed that there was little point in him continuing in a subject that held little interest to him.

When they enquired as to what he would prefer to study instead, Ginny groaned and rolled her eyes dramatically, "Aeronautical Engineering? You're as bad as your grandfather."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he muttered, dumping the freshly peeled potatoes onto a baking tray as his father began to season them.

"More importantly, what are job prospects after you complete your course?" asked Harry.

"And where would you study?" Ginny chipped in. "I'm assuming not London."

"Not London, no…" Albus replied evasively, sharing a meaningful look with Scorpius. Harry noticed the look shared between the two boys and smirked.

"I thought going to Edinburgh was only supposed to be a holiday?" he inferred. Albus shrugged.

"It was supposed to…" he began. Ginny glowered at her son.

"Edinburgh? Really?" she huffed. "London was bad enough. Merlin, I'll never get to see you all the way up there."

"You will!" Albus promised. "I'll come visit more often this time."

"He will," Scorpius assured Ginny. "I'll remind him to come see you both more often. Not just on special occasions like this. But for dinners and stuff."

"You better," Ginny warned, waving a potato masher at Scorpius. "And you better come with him. You're practically my son-in-law anyway, so I'll expect to see you when he visits, too."

Scorpius blushed and nodded vigorously, looking extremely pleased with the invitation. Ginny only allowed everyone back into the kitchen when dinner was ready a couple of hours later. It was a typically rambunctious affair, as anyone who knew the Weasleys would expect it to be; everyone shouted and laughed over one another, plates laden with food passed up and down the magically-extended kitchen table to occupy its many inhabitants. The news that Albus was planning to switch degrees from a magical course to a Muggle one caused greater waves than the revelation that he was in a relationship with Scorpius; James and Lily thought he was mad, but Arthur was delighted to hear that his grandson was going to learn how to design and build Muggle aircraft.

As the meal concluded, everyone broke up into smaller groups; Hermione, Neville and Luna stayed in the kitchen to help Ginny clean up. George and Angelina took over the living room singing along (poorly) as Celestina Warbeck's greatest hits blasted from the radio. Everyone - even Molly - laughed as George and Angelina pranced across the living room, their dance moves as bad as their singing. Harry and Scorpius sat in the conservatory talking quietly to one another as Harry recounted one of his many school day adventures to him. Albus smiled fondly as he watched Scorpius sitting wide-eyed, listening with rapt attention to his father's tales of heroics.

"Enjoying the party, Albus?"

Albus turned and saw Pippa smiling down at him. He nodded for her to take the seat next to him.

"It's been alright," he shrugged. "I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you were working today?"

Pippa smiled mischievously, "I was supposed to, but I swapped shifts with someone else at the last minute. I was enjoying everyone's company too much to leave."

"Of course, it had nothing to do with seeing the look on my face when I walked into a room full of my friends and family holding Scorp's hand?" he mused, raising an eyebrow. Pippa's grin widened.

"That may have been another factor, yeah," she admitted.

"If I'm honest, seeing you sitting there was rather reassuring," said Albus. "I figured if everyone was going to take the news badly, you wouldn't have looked so happy."

"I wouldn't have let you walk into the kitchen if I thought it would go badly," she assured him. "But I could feel what they feel for you, Albus. Your family love you dearly. They just want you to be happy."

Albus smiled, "That's good to know. I suppose having you around isn't so bad after all."

"Thanks," she replied wryly. She eyed Harry and Scorpius talking in the corner of the room with interest. "Scorpius kinda hero-worships your dad, huh?"

Albus snorted, "Yeah, a bit. He admitted to me a long time ago that he was fascinated with the legend of my father; growing up he read a lot of books about him. He was impressed that his own dad knew him, too. You know, even if they weren't friends or anything."

Pippa nodded interestedly, her gaze still fixed on the two men, "Scorpius really wants to impress your dad."

"Mm, I'm sure he does," laughed Albus rolling his eyes.

"He doesn't want to impress him because he's the Boy Who Lived. He wants to impress him 'cause he's your dad," she explained. "But he needn't worry; your dad already likes him."

"He does?" asked Albus hopefully.

"Yeah, he really does," she reassured him. "He likes that he makes you happy. And he likes that you've always looked out for one another. It reminds him of what it was like when he was at school, when he had Ron and Hermione to look out for him, even when he felt alone…" Pippa's voice trailed and her eyes welled with tears. She lowered her gaze and cleared her throat, "That's what I get for being too nosey. You don't just tap into people's thoughts, you feel what they feel, too. It can be overwhelming at times. Sorry Albus, excuse me..."

Without further explanation, Pippa jumped to her feet and left the room. Albus watched his father closely for a few moments, deep in thought. Aside from their obvious similarities in appearance, he and his father were remarkably similar in other ways; both had grown up feeling like outsiders, neither feeling that they fit in anywhere, and both had often felt lonely as a result. They were both intensely emotional people and struggled to hide their true feelings. This was probably the reason why even a powerful Legilimens like Pippa struggled to keep her abilities under control in their company; the depth and intensity of their feelings could be overwhelming.

He supposed he and his father were similar in other ways, too; both had been judged by others without ever bothering to get to know them first. It was something that Albus had always (unfairly, he realised later) resented his father for; to forever be compared to a living legend that he had no hope of ever living up to. No matter how hard he tried, Albus could never live up to such high expectations. And yet they both had found someone who never judged them that way; they had fallen in love with people who loved them just as they were, not for what everyone else thought they ought to be.

Albus realised that he and his father had quite a lot in common - both stubborn, both bad-tempered and impulsive, both loyal to the people that they love, and both happy in the end. Maybe it wasn't so bad being like his father, after all.


	14. Epilogue: The Path on Which You Wander

"I don't want you to go," said Scorpius again, glumly.

"I don't want to go either," Albus reminded him. "But it's only for a couple of weeks."

"I know," he sighed. "Two weeks too long in my opinion."

The last two weeks of Albus' perfect holiday in Edinburgh had come to an end. Although he had seen everything that the city had to offer in that time, he certainly hadn't had his fill of Scorpius. He very much doubted he ever would. Pippa and Rose had waved him off with the promise that they would see him again once he had moved everything out of his London flat and up to the small studio flat he and Scorpius had found for themselves in the city centre. Scorpius had grudgingly accepted his father's help finding them somewhere for them both to live, in part because the boys wanted their privacy but mainly on Albus' insistence that they live somewhere with working central heating.

Albus checked his watch and sighed, "I'll need to go. My train leaves in a few minutes."

Scorpius bowed his head and nodded, "Okay."

Albus hesitated. He really didn't want to leave. But it only was for a short while this time. He pulled Scorpius into a tight hug, neither willing to let go. Scorpius broke the embrace and wiped tears from his eyes.

"I got something for you," he said roughly. "For the train journey."

Scorpius pulled a small paper bag from his pocket and placed it carefully into Albus' hand. Albus grinned, already knowing what it would be, he peeked inside the bag.

"Pepper Imps," he laughed. Slipping the bag into his pocket he pulled Scorpius into a final embrace.

"Thank you," he whispered before pressing their lips together. Scorpius wrapped his arms around Albus and held him tightly, Albus could feel his tears brush against his cheek as they continued to kiss. Finally they broke away and Albus slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"I'll call you when I get back," he promised. The whistle blew signalling the train was ready to depart. Stealing a final kiss from Scorpius, Albus stepped onto the train. Closing the door behind him he slid the window open and leaned out of it. The train started to move and Scorpius began walking along side it, but it quickly picked up speed and he had to jog to keep up.

"I love you!" shouted Albus, waving furiously.

"I love you, too!" Scorpius cried after him. He stopped dead at the end of the tracks and shouted something that sounded like 'Haste ye back,' but he was too far away now that Albus couldn't be sure he had heard him properly. He kept waving until the train turned the corner and Scorpius was out of sight.

Shuffling down the long corridor to his allocated seat, Albus slumped into his seat and pressed his forehead against the cool glass window, feeling the pain of Scorpius' absence already. He glanced up and saw the shadow of the castle loom overhead, although he paid it no mind. His thoughts wandered to something of far greater interest and importance than any castle. To someone he had just left behind.

Albus pulled the crumpled bag of sweets out from his pocket and rummaged inside for a sweet when he frowned. Inside the bag was a neatly folded piece of parchment. He unfolded the paper and immediately recognised Scorpius' neat handwriting:

 _May the path on which you wander_

 _Be to you a joy each day_

 _Haste ye back, I love you dearly_

 _Haste ye back…_

Albus' heart swelled as he read and reread the poem. Albus was the one who was supposed to be the old romantic, maybe it had rubbed off on Scorpius a little bit. He carefully folded the parchment back up and slipped it into his breast pocket, smiling to himself. It had been seven years since he and Scorpius had first met on a train not too dissimilar to this one when his life had changed forever. Six miserable months since they had parted ways and he had missed his best friend terribly. Four weeks since he and Scorpius had finally confessed their feelings for one another and Albus' life had changed again. He could manage two more weeks. After that, they'd have the rest of their lives to spend together.


End file.
